FLORIDA TODAY's Craig Handel reported that the Univ. of Miami (UM) "is on pace to obliterate the school attendance mark this season." Despite being a perennial college football power, UM "has had attendance marks that border on the embarrassing," as only twice has the school averaged 60,000 in a season. To reverse the trend, UM engaged in "detailed demographic research, flexible yet strategic ticket packages [and] a time-friendly schedule." In their first two home games this year, UM has averaged 71,085 fans. Additionally, they have sold out the FL State game, and expect to sell out the contest versus VA Tech. UM AD Paul Dee, on the challenges facing the school: "If you look at any major university in a major metro market, I can think of only one, which routinely sells out and that's the University of Washington. In a major metro market, there are advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is there's a lot of people to target if you can get them to come." UM Senior Associate AD Patrick Nero, on the increased attendance: "We've had a three-year plan to increase football ticket sales and the purpose of it is for survival and for the department to remain competitive financially. A lot of it is a necessity to establish a fan base in South Florida. Breaking attendance records is nice, but what's more important is the revenues will allow our program to grow." Nero said that UM has gone from $4.2M of ticket revenues in '97 to a projected $11M this season (FLORIDA TODAY, 10/2).
