Average attendance across all of college football posted its highest gain since 2017, increasing by 27 fans, according to Dennis Dodd of CBSSPORTS.com. It is “small growth but a rise nonetheless” as the average attendance ticked "up from 41,840 fans per game in 2022 to 41,867 last season." The 2023 figure represents the first time FBS attendance “has risen across consecutive seasons” since 2008. That rise “continues to shatter long-standing fallacies” that the NCAA has "preached" in court filings saying that player compensation "would be the death of the amateur model." The Univ. of Houston, following its move to the Big 12, had the nation's “largest attendance increase by percentage” (+45.3%) and “second-largest increase by game” (+10,626) last season. That also is a result of Texas “coming to town for the first time in 22 years.” On-field success helped Florida State “enjoy a similar attendance boost up to a nation-leading increase of 11,457 fans per game.” Univ. of Colorado attendance was up more than 30% from 2022, leading all Power Five schools, as Folsom Field was filled to 105% of its capacity (53,180), the "highest average in program history” (CBSSPORTS.com, 3/11).
