(08-29-2018 10:52 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  

(08-29-2018 07:55 AM)TexanMark Wrote:  Season Ticket sales have cratered at UConn too

From 27k+ to 9k in 8 years...

Some extra data to further that point.

UConn Football Attendance Average
2003: 37,059
2004: 39,304
2005: 40,000
2006: 38,939
2007: 38,919
2008: 39,331
2009: 38,229
2010: 38,248
2011: 36,668
2012: 34,672
2013: 30,392
2014: 27,461
2015: 28,224
2016: 26,796
2017: 20,334

UConn Football Season Tickets Allocated
2003: 25,500
2004: 28,500
2005: 32,500
2006: 28,000
2007: 27,000
2008: 28,500
2009: 27,000
2010: 27,500
2011: 26,000
2012: 23,000
2013: 25,000
2014: 20,000
2015: 16,000
2016: 16,000
2017: 16,000
2018: 9,000

Basically, UConn will need to average 11,000 walk-ups per home game just to match last year's average fan attendance (which was the lowest ever). That is no good.

UConn is the biggest loser in realignment. They went from having West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers and Louisville on the schedule plus Notre Dame/C7 in basketball to C-USA circa 2002. Cincinnati was a loser too but they are not doing as bad as UConn while USF has a nice rivalry going on with UCF and Charlie Strong.

(08-29-2018 10:52 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  

(08-29-2018 07:55 AM)TexanMark Wrote:  Season Ticket sales have cratered at UConn too

From 27k+ to 9k in 8 years...

Some extra data to further that point.

UConn Football Attendance Average
2003: 37,059
2004: 39,304
2005: 40,000
2006: 38,939
2007: 38,919
2008: 39,331
2009: 38,229
2010: 38,248
2011: 36,668
2012: 34,672
2013: 30,392
2014: 27,461
2015: 28,224
2016: 26,796
2017: 20,334

UConn Football Season Tickets Allocated
2003: 25,500
2004: 28,500
2005: 32,500
2006: 28,000
2007: 27,000
2008: 28,500
2009: 27,000
2010: 27,500
2011: 26,000
2012: 23,000
2013: 25,000
2014: 20,000
2015: 16,000
2016: 16,000
2017: 16,000
2018: 9,000

Basically, UConn will need to average 11,000 walk-ups per home game just to match last year's average fan attendance (which was the lowest ever). That is no good.

They were burnt the worst by realignment. They thought they would be playing Syracuse, BC, Rutgers, Pitt, etc. annually. It's been a roller-coaster ride for sure.

(08-29-2018 12:03 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  UConn is the biggest loser in realignment. They went from having West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers and Louisville on the schedule plus Notre Dame/C7 in basketball to C-USA circa 2002. Cincinnati was a loser too but they are not doing as bad as UConn while USF has a nice rivalry going on with UCF and Charlie Strong.

I know USF may be (at present) earning less television revenue, but I would say that they made out pretty well. To my knowledge, they were against adding UCF in the Big East for years, but there is tremendous value with UCF/USF being paired together. USF is easily one of the top programs in the American, and they are now situated in a Southern-based conference, instead of a Northern-based one (where they were the lone Southern team). There's also a much better opportunity for them to compete in basketball than the old Big East. They are well-positioned for the future, IMO.

(08-29-2018 12:11 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  

(08-29-2018 12:03 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  UConn is the biggest loser in realignment. They went from having West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers and Louisville on the schedule plus Notre Dame/C7 in basketball to C-USA circa 2002. Cincinnati was a loser too but they are not doing as bad as UConn while USF has a nice rivalry going on with UCF and Charlie Strong.

I know USF may be (at present) earning less television revenue, but I would say that they made out pretty well. To my knowledge, they were against adding UCF in the Big East for years, but there is tremendous value with UCF/USF being paired together. USF is easily one of the top programs in the American, and they are now situated in a Southern-based conference, instead of a Northern-based one (where they were the lone Southern team). There's also a much better opportunity for them to compete in basketball than the old Big East. They are well-positioned for the future, IMO.

I agree. They lost the recruiting advantage they had over UCF but they’re well positioned to be competitive in football and basketball. They’re in a conference with other like minded schools like Temple, Houston, Memphis and Cincinnati.

(08-29-2018 12:03 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  

(08-29-2018 10:52 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  

(08-29-2018 07:55 AM)TexanMark Wrote:  Season Ticket sales have cratered at UConn too

From 27k+ to 9k in 8 years...

Some extra data to further that point.

UConn Football Attendance Average
2003: 37,059
2004: 39,304
2005: 40,000
2006: 38,939
2007: 38,919
2008: 39,331
2009: 38,229
2010: 38,248
2011: 36,668
2012: 34,672
2013: 30,392
2014: 27,461
2015: 28,224
2016: 26,796
2017: 20,334

UConn Football Season Tickets Allocated
2003: 25,500
2004: 28,500
2005: 32,500
2006: 28,000
2007: 27,000
2008: 28,500
2009: 27,000
2010: 27,500
2011: 26,000
2012: 23,000
2013: 25,000
2014: 20,000
2015: 16,000
2016: 16,000
2017: 16,000
2018: 9,000

Basically, UConn will need to average 11,000 walk-ups per home game just to match last year's average fan attendance (which was the lowest ever). That is no good.

UConn is the biggest loser in realignment. They went from having West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers and Louisville on the schedule plus Notre Dame/C7 in basketball to C-USA circa 2002. Cincinnati was a loser too but they are not doing as bad as UConn while USF has a nice rivalry going on with UCF and Charlie Strong.

Its affected Cincinnati also. We lost an old rival (Louisville) and two, budding regional rivals (WVU and Pitt). Further, Xavier University- located 2.5 miles away, was given a promotion.

A couple salvos for us in terms of attendance in FB is that, despite the past two years, we have consistently put on a decent FB product. This is also true for basketball-- of course, we have had a strong basketball program dating back to the 1950s. I would also add the university has continued to grow each year over the past decade, in both enrollment and the level of academics (this year we have 45,000 students). UC's freshmen class has 6,800 student-- 83% of whom are living in campus housing. This equates to more butts in the seats.

(08-29-2018 01:00 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Its affected Cincinnati also. We lost an old rival (Louisville) and two, budding regional rivals (WVU and Pitt). Further, Xavier University- located 2.5 miles away, was given a promotion.

A couple salvos for us in terms of attendance in FB is that, despite the past two years, we have consistently put on a decent FB product. This is also true for basketball-- of course, we have had a strong basketball program dating back to the 1950s. I would also add the university has continued to grow each year over the past decade, in both enrollment and the level of academics (this year we have 45,000 students). UC's freshmen class has 6,800 student-- 83% of whom are living in campus housing. This equates to more butts in the seats.

That's good to hear. I'll miss the MU/Cincy basketball games for sure. We had some epic games dating back to C-USA. Losing Cincinnati/Louisville was a gut-punch, and the West Virginia/Pittsburgh matchups were growing in interest and following each year. I'm glad that Pittsburgh is scheduled down the road. I think Cincinnati/Memphis has strong potential, as does ongoing matchups with UCF/USF/ECU/Temple. The culture-change for Cincinnati was not as drastic as, say, UConn.

The same thing is happening to them in men's basketball. They've gone from 19th to 52nd in attendance in 15 years.

Year Rank Team Total Average
2002 19. Connecticut 15 205,640 13,709
2003 21. Connecticut 16 211,660 13,229
2004 20. Connecticut 18 243,876 13,549
2005 15. Connecticut 17 234,109 13,771
2006 19. Connecticut 16 223,176 13,948
2007 20. Connecticut 20 260,231 13,012
2008 32. Connecticut 17 202,082 11,887
2009 28. Connecticut 16 200,284 12,518
2010 34. Connecticut 19 222,024 11,685
2011 32. Connecticut 17 196,671 11,569
2012 26. Connecticut 17 214,873 12,640
2013 34. Connecticut 16 171,644 10,728
2014 40. UConn 18 182,416 10,134
2015 37. UConn 20 213,738 10,687
2016 40. UConn 17 177,027 10,413
2017 52. UConn 17 144,591 8,505
You know you have officially reached a new low when your women's team is outdrawing your men's team. Heads should be rolling.

H/t: Clifton ParkSU

UConn's in a bad spot for sure. They made a wager on football being a life raft for basketball when the Big East eventually split (and they absolutely knew a split was coming) and it's wound up doing just the opposite while being a major money pit itself. Any leftover Big East Football appeal that UConn went into AAC play with is gone at this point, because you can only lose games to AAC teams for so long until you're just another AAC team instead of an old BCS squad playing down, and it's become clear that the brands in the AAC aren't doing anything to drive attendance for UConn.

I get why UConn made the decision they did regarding conference affiliation when the AAC/Big East split happened, with another round of expansion seeming like it would eventually happen, the leftover exit fees offering a financial bridge, and the uncertainty of the then-future for the non-football Big East, but if the fans are only going to show up (in all sports) if UConn is posting winning records the only thing that the AAC is really offering right now is the hope that the current round of TV talks could go better than expected. Fans will show up for an 8-4/9-3 independent program too, if that's what it's going to take to drive ticket sales in the AAC.