USC for its six home games at the L.A. Coliseum this season drew an average attendance of 68,459, the lowest since '02 when the school "drew an average of 66,853 per game," according to Joey Kaufman of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. USC on Saturday drew a crowd of 72,402 for its game against Notre Dame, the "smallest for a game involving the Fighting Irish" at the Coliseum since '86 (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 11/27).
MAKING PROGRESS: USF AD Mark Harlan said that though football ticket sales are up 42% this season from '15, the school has seen its "share of struggles in converting the announced attendance based on tickets distributed to the actual number of fans." In Orlando, Shannon Green noted USF drew a crowd of 36,056 for its win Saturday over UCF at Raymond James Stadium, marking the school's "first 10-win season since the program started" in '97. Harlan said, "You have to have constant focus on what you're trying to do because there is so much going on in these great cities and to capture attention can be difficult" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/25).
OUT OF SIGHT: In Indiana, Dakota Crawford noted Ball State’s average attendance "plummeted all the way to 7,789 per contest" this year. The average was low "not only by MAC standards," but the entire FBS, ranking the school "dead last." Ball State was also second-to-last in the FBS in attendance in '14 and '15. Ball State AD Mark Sandy: "We’re always concerned about increasing our attendance in football. ... But we have to get the people in Muncie excited about our team. And we have to continue to look at every possible way to market. So far, we haven’t hit on something." Sandy added, "In the past, when you were on ESPN or ESPN 2, it was more novel. People would come out to be on TV. But now, so many games are on television that it’s maybe lost its luster” (Muncie STAR PRESS, 11/27).
