The good news: college football has never been a hotter television commodity. The bad news: some of those viewing eyeballs are coming at the expense of actual, in-person spectators.
Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com released an overarching study of college football attendance in 2014 and found that an average of 43,483 fans attended FBS games this fall, down four percent from 2013 and the lowest overall figure since 2000. The average is down a full section from the peak of 46,456 fans in 2008.
The dividing line between haves and have-nots showed up markedly in attendance figures, as nearly three-fourths of the 25 highest-attended programs maintained or increased their averages (all happen to be Power Five schools), while only 48 percent of the Group of Five schools managed to do the same. Essentially, the demand has never been greater for Power Five football, and continues to wane for mid-majors.
A few more notes:
- The SEC again led the way among conferences, upping its record to 78,018 - a three percent gain from last year.
- In addition to beating Michigan on the field, Ohio State took the attendance national championship away from the Wolverines. Ohio State led the way with a 106,296 average, while Michigan placed third behind Texas A&M at 104,909.
- The five biggest gainers among Power Five schools: Texas A&M (up 21 percent), Maryland (14 percent), LSU (11 percent), Mississippi State (10 percent), Rutgers/Florida State/UCLA (nine percent). Texas A&M, LSU and Mississippi State each had stadium expansions from this season to last, Maryland and Rutgers had a new conference to sell, and Florida State and UCLA each had a tremendous amount of optimism entering this season.
- The overall top five: Ohio State (106,296), Texas A&M (105,123), Michigan (104,909), LSU (101,723) and Penn State (101,623).
- The bottom five: Akron (9,170), Ball State (9,389), Florida International (11,966), New Mexico State (12,269), and Idaho (12,886).
And, finally, one depressing note to end on: UAB led the nation with a whopping 107 percent increase. This is the same UAB program that recently dropped football.