Actual Rutgers Attendance

[gobulls83]

Aren't you guys getting tired of this endless argument? How many times do you need to repeat yourselves? Does anyone actually have anything new to say?

(Of course not.)

[BDYZR]

I'm right and you're wrong!

WAIT!

You're right and he's wrong!

WAIT!

She's right and I'm wrong!

WAIT!

He's right and...

Where was I?

[BleedGreenAndGold]

Unfortunately that is what happens on a Wednesday night game in the Tampa Bay area.

A game between a 4-3 Rutgers team and a 4-3 USF team on a rainy Saturday night in Tampa isn't going to draw significantly more than one on a Wednesday night.  So we schedule one Wednesday night game in the history of the program.  If this becomes a trend then fine, complain all you want, but there's no reason to believe it will.  Just win Skip.

we had 3 weeknight games this year. I believe we had 3 last year as well and 2 the year before. ESPN is going to use thursdays for SEC and ACC games now that they both signed huge contracts. this will push BE games to wednesdays.

you're crazy if you think wednesdays draw as well as saturdays and i don't recall a drop of rain last night.

Stoney brook drew 7k more fans than hated rutgers. Western Kentucky drew more as did FAU.

Then I suggest you express your displeasure about weeknight games to Cincy and WVU because they controlled the previous 2.  Not a thing USF could have done about it.

Don't pick and choose what you want to argue against.  You have to read all the words.  If you think games between mediocre teams in potentially questionable weather draw well at anytime then you haven't been around the program long.

Those games were the first played under a new head coach, curiosity played a factor for the casual fan.

People don't wait until they get to the game and then decide to look at the weather.  There was a decent chance of bad weather for the game.

I'm not arguing that IN GENERAL Wednesdays draw as well as Saturdays, that's ridiculous.  My point is that if you had played last nights game on a Saturday (and given up the ESPN revenue in the process) the difference in attendance would not have been as staggering as you think.

In order for large crowds to come to watch USF on any day their has to be something significant at stake.  To the casual fan in Tampa revenge against Rutgers is not nearly as significant as it is to you or me.

I didn't have to take off work to watch the other games. I didn't have to worry about kids and school the next day. All I care about is the games I pay for and when woolard decides to schedule them.

You're insane if you don't think a game against rutgers draws much better on a saturday than it did on wednesday.

Western Kentucky drew 4k more than rutgers!! there was curiosity to see us play Western freakin kentucky?? they're not even good enough to be considered mediocre. They are absolutely terrible and they drew 4k more people. FAU drew 3k more. Rutgers had a pretty good showing. Certainly better than those 2 teams so i would say we drew even less of our fans.

Stop with the rain excuse. there wasn't a drop in the sky.

You were inconvenienced by the scheduling of the game and you make it sound like your inconvenience is a symptom of the downfall of USF football.  I'm sure that's not how you really feel, but that's how it reads.

I'll sum it up like this.  When USF plays like Alabama, and attends games like Alabama, and donates to the program like Alabama, then USF can schedule like Alabama.  Until then, this is the way things are.  I'll save you the suspense, it won't happen in our lifetime.

I'm done. All good?  :cheers /no_sarcasm_intended

Aren't you guys getting tired of this endless argument? How many times do you need to repeat yourselves? Does anyone actually have anything new to say?

(Of course not.)

Clearly not.

[WoolyBully]

We all knew attendance would be light.

It's Wednesday night against an unranked

conference team who has beaten USF

the past four meetings. And I left at the

half - something I generally reserve for

our early season FCS opponents.  The fact

that it was Rutgers kept my interest, but

had this been WKU or FAU...no, those

tickets would probably have gone unused.

Lets lose the Wednesday night games.

Thursday is bad enough.

[Bull94]

Aren't you guys getting tired of this endless argument? How many times do you need to repeat yourselves? Does anyone actually have anything new to say?

(Of course not.)

you do realize you don't have to open the thread, right?

[Bull94]

Unfortunately that is what happens on a Wednesday night game in the Tampa Bay area.

A game between a 4-3 Rutgers team and a 4-3 USF team on a rainy Saturday night in Tampa isn't going to draw significantly more than one on a Wednesday night.  So we schedule one Wednesday night game in the history of the program.  If this becomes a trend then fine, complain all you want, but there's no reason to believe it will.  Just win Skip.

we had 3 weeknight games this year. I believe we had 3 last year as well and 2 the year before. ESPN is going to use thursdays for SEC and ACC games now that they both signed huge contracts. this will push BE games to wednesdays.

you're crazy if you think wednesdays draw as well as saturdays and i don't recall a drop of rain last night.

Stoney brook drew 7k more fans than hated rutgers. Western Kentucky drew more as did FAU.

Then I suggest you express your displeasure about weeknight games to Cincy and WVU because they controlled the previous 2.  Not a thing USF could have done about it.

Don't pick and choose what you want to argue against.  You have to read all the words.  If you think games between mediocre teams in potentially questionable weather draw well at anytime then you haven't been around the program long.

Those games were the first played under a new head coach, curiosity played a factor for the casual fan.

People don't wait until they get to the game and then decide to look at the weather.  There was a decent chance of bad weather for the game.

I'm not arguing that IN GENERAL Wednesdays draw as well as Saturdays, that's ridiculous.  My point is that if you had played last nights game on a Saturday (and given up the ESPN revenue in the process) the difference in attendance would not have been as staggering as you think.

In order for large crowds to come to watch USF on any day their has to be something significant at stake.  To the casual fan in Tampa revenge against Rutgers is not nearly as significant as it is to you or me.

I didn't have to take off work to watch the other games. I didn't have to worry about kids and school the next day. All I care about is the games I pay for and when woolard decides to schedule them.

You're insane if you don't think a game against rutgers draws much better on a saturday than it did on wednesday.

Western Kentucky drew 4k more than rutgers!! there was curiosity to see us play Western freakin kentucky?? they're not even good enough to be considered mediocre. They are absolutely terrible and they drew 4k more people. FAU drew 3k more. Rutgers had a pretty good showing. Certainly better than those 2 teams so i would say we drew even less of our fans.

Stop with the rain excuse. there wasn't a drop in the sky.

You were inconvenienced by the scheduling of the game and you make it sound like your inconvenience is a symptom of the downfall of USF football.  I'm sure that's not how you really feel, but that's how it reads.

I'll sum it up like this.  When USF plays like Alabama, and attends games like Alabama, and donates to the program like Alabama, then USF can schedule like Alabama.  Until then, this is the way things are.  I'll save you the suspense, it won't happen in our lifetime.

I'm done. All good?  :cheers /no_sarcasm_intended

Aren't you guys getting tired of this endless argument? How many times do you need to repeat yourselves? Does anyone actually have anything new to say?

(Of course not.)

Clearly not.

I am not really concerned with my inconvenience. I want USF to grow their fan base.

Playing bush league opponents and playing on bush league nights will not do that.

Wednesday night football is for the MAC and c-usa.

We are the only BCS program to hold a home game on a wednesday night.

Woolard wasted a tremendous opportunity to entertain current as well as possible future season ticket holders by playing this game on a wednesday night.

Who said anything about attaining Alabama status? We are a BCS program and i would like to schedule like one. If we were still in c-usa then fine bring on the wednesday night games.

[Guest Sunburned]

Look how UCF packed the Wok for their biggest CUSA game this year, and it was played on a Saturday!!! 

[smazza]

why such a big topic

[SRQ]

cause there's no game for over a week

[Matt]

I was there.  That's really the only attendance figure I am concerned about.

People put too much focus on it.  We all know it was 2 unranked teams and usf doesn't have a huge CORE fanbase.

This isn't the pros.  You don't have to worry about revenue to pay players or a team leaving.

you need lots of revenue to build $30M athletic facilities.

you need lots of revenue to pay coaches $1.7M a year.

We didnt lose much revenue with 25K showing up vs 40K showing up.  Most of the people who didnt show up were season ticket holders with corporate tickets (complete east sideline of the stadium was BARE)

those tickets were SOLD.  just not USED.

we NEVER have a huge walk up crowd.  only when we are ranked.  we dont get money from concession, hardly ever get money from parking, so i dont see how 25K vs 40K effects our bottom line that much.

the biggest problem with the wednesday game is a lot of traveling fans from rutgers probably did not make the trip.  if anything, the tampa vistors chamber, or whatever it is called...should be upset with USF for taking ESPNs money.  Not USF fans.

Sure, sold out games are fun but i dont see a huge difference from 40-45K vs 25K diehards