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Ohio Football Topic
Topic: Most Disappointing Crowd Ever?
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OhioCatFan
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Posted: 9/17/2023 10:43 AM
Bobcat110 wrote:expand_more
Having parents/family weekend last weekend was a weird play.
This University and AD's office do a lot of weird things. Whether the AD's office was consulted on that decision I don't know, but they should have been.
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Tymaster
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Posted: 9/17/2023 10:47 AM
Speaker of Truth wrote:expand_more
What a let down of a crowd. Does the department not have a ticket sales team anymore? I remember a few years ago they had a full student staff that really increased attendance, along with those family
Packs. We’ve really gone down hill.
I've been to most every home game since 2005. This was a fine crowd. Aside from the Pitt game almost 20 years ago, it's not like Peden reached some kind of fever pitch level of insanity. A "good" crowd is within 80% of all seats filled (noticed I didn't say "sold" but filled) and 2/3 actually staying after the band. We had that and more yesterday.
Victory
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Posted: 9/17/2023 11:08 AM
Cellis033 wrote:expand_more
What a win! Probably the biggest win at home in program history since Pitt in 2005. I’m very happy with my fellow students turning out, entire student section was packed through first half and held strong for the whole game. I thought we were all pretty engaged and made some serious noise. I don’t think they would have let us rush the field anyway - a crowd of us tried last year when we defeated BGSUCKS - security shut that down pretty quick. But again, not really a game that deserves a field rush - excited about this team. Defense is stacked - I’m sure offense will pick up soon. Thought we were a bit conservative in play calling but it worked out in the end.
I think rushing the field when you were a 2 point underdog against a Big 12 team that will probably be in the second division of its league wouldn't have been the best look. We have won games like this before.
Y-CityCatFan
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Posted: 9/17/2023 11:51 AM
I was also disappointed with the total attendance and was expecting more... but... as always my biggest complaint is the complete lack of fire from the fans. With few exceptions, (the final 3-4 minutes of the game as an example) we are a quiet bunch. 🤫

I know we couldn't possible capture the same energy that we had during the entire Pitt game, but... a fraction of that would be nice. We definitely got to see what a loud Peden crowd can be like!

The student section has been quite good though!
Mike Coleman
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Posted: 9/17/2023 1:10 PM
Campus Flow wrote:expand_more
Student attendance was solid but not at the 2015 level. There are 3,000 less undergraduates.
I’m curious where you found this statistic, as the last two enrolled classes rank #1 and #2 in Ohio University history as far as number of enrolled freshmen.
Alan Swank
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Posted: 9/17/2023 2:19 PM
Mike Coleman wrote:expand_more
Student attendance was solid but not at the 2015 level. There are 3,000 less undergraduates.
I’m curious where you found this statistic, as the last two enrolled classes rank #1 and #2 in Ohio University history as far as number of enrolled freshmen.
Here you go Mike. I posted this in another thread earlier. While the last two classes have been big, total numbers are down significantly from 2016 highs. In sales terms, renewals are a part of the story too (retention is the word higher ed uses)

https://www.ohio.edu/iea/student-data/enrollment/levelenr...

Another aspect of this that hasn't been discussed is student fees and the effect on the athletics budget. Assuming $800 per year per student, each 1000 students represent $800K in fees.
AlumDadDad
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Posted: 9/17/2023 4:05 PM
From my seat, I was initially disappointed with the crowd, but there was very little exodus after the half. It was a beautiful day, so the Paw Paw Festival drew a lot of people.

Agree with no field rush. While it would have been fun, we need to expect to win those kind of games at home and act like it.
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 9/17/2023 6:47 PM
I was disappointed in the crowd size as well. People act like they crave names, then we bring in a pretty solid name nationally and it doesn't seem to move the meter an inch.

There was no noteworthy reason why the crowd should be held back. The local reasons discussed are laughable. Weather was perfect. Not even a conflicting OSU game or other big game to watch. To me it just comes down to the casual fan alumni living in state. They should've come and would've had a lovely day, but they continue to choose not to even with a good team, star QB, and notable opponent.

But about half or more of the students staying after halftime was a great development! Hope we see more of that.
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Posted: 9/17/2023 7:07 PM
bobcatsquared wrote:expand_more
Really impressed with the student section. I don't think there's a MAC school that rivals it.
I have a friend (& OU alum) who works for UT and is at every Toledo home game. I saw him in the student side corner last homecoming game. His son asked in amazement “This is the student section?”. Evidently there is a very poor student turn out for UT football games (unsure about basketball).

Bleed Green and GO OHIO!!

MonroeClassmate
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Posted: 9/17/2023 7:07 PM
How was the 1/2 time show? ISU fans impressed?
FanInTheStands
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Posted: 9/17/2023 9:26 PM
Saturday noon games are always problematic for us. There are several events on Saturday mornings that make it difficult for fans to attend. Numerous sporting events are on Saturdays (usually JV football games, many cross country events, biddy ball football games that would include younger kids both playing ball and cheering, festival seasons in area towns---Paw Paw and Mothman in the area this past weekend). I've never been a fan of noon kickoffs but considering everything else that was happening this past Saturday (and those I'm sure I've overlooked) I'm pleased with the nearly 22,000 boisterous fans that were at The Frank for the ISU game.
Alan Swank
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Posted: 9/17/2023 9:54 PM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
I was disappointed in the crowd size as well. People act like they crave names, then we bring in a pretty solid name nationally and it doesn't seem to move the meter an inch.

There was no noteworthy reason why the crowd should be held back. The local reasons discussed are laughable. Weather was perfect. Not even a conflicting OSU game or other big game to watch. To me it just comes down to the casual fan alumni living in state. They should've come and would've had a lovely day, but they continue to choose not to even with a good team, star QB, and notable opponent.

But about half or more of the students staying after halftime was a great development! Hope we see more of that.
Laughable? If I recall correctly, on more than one occasion you had to miss a game because you either had to coach one of your kid's games or they were playing in one. I know it may be hard for you to believe, but people do have lives in addition to a noon football game on a perfectly beautiful Saturday in September.
GraffZ06
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Posted: 9/17/2023 10:17 PM
Yeah that Mothman festival. Just wish we could find a way to schedule around it. THEN, look out. Well except for those thousands watching biddy football. That's problematic.

Priorities.

All those events should be saying "dang it's an OU home football weekend we better figure out how to schedule around it or nobody will show up to our thing"

Until we're a priority nothing matters or changes.
Bobcat Jerry
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Posted: 9/18/2023 4:12 AM
GraffZ06 wrote:expand_more
Yeah that Mothman festival. Just wish we could find a way to schedule around it. THEN, look out. Well except for those thousands watching biddy football. That's problematic.

Priorities.

All those events should be saying "dang it's an OU home football weekend we better figure out how to schedule around it or nobody will show up to our thing"

Until we're a priority nothing matters or changes.
From Colorado the stadium and treed background looked beautiful as I recall sitting in the seats. (That's from an old alumni grad of 1973 who recalls great moments in those seats) Proud to be a Bobcat!
Last Edited: 9/18/2023 4:13:27 AM by Bobcat Jerry
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 9/18/2023 9:30 AM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
I was disappointed in the crowd size as well. People act like they crave names, then we bring in a pretty solid name nationally and it doesn't seem to move the meter an inch.

There was no noteworthy reason why the crowd should be held back. The local reasons discussed are laughable. Weather was perfect. Not even a conflicting OSU game or other big game to watch. To me it just comes down to the casual fan alumni living in state. They should've come and would've had a lovely day, but they continue to choose not to even with a good team, star QB, and notable opponent.

But about half or more of the students staying after halftime was a great development! Hope we see more of that.
Laughable? If I recall correctly, on more than one occasion you had to miss a game because you either had to coach one of your kid's games or they were playing in one. I know it may be hard for you to believe, but people do have lives in addition to a noon football game on a perfectly beautiful Saturday in September.
Of course Alan, I only make it to about half the games due to other family items and I know others are the same. But that is true of every literally every single day on the calendar. There was nothing unique about September 16, 2023 to suppress attendance. And jostling the start time around would just make some able to go and others now not able to go. In fact, my freshman had his JV soccer game at 6:30. Had the game been at 3:30 I would not have been able to attend.

My point is having Iowa State in town on a beautiful day should've triggers a few thousand alumni around the state to say "oh we should go to that" and it clearly didn't move the meter at all, which is disappointing.
Andrew Ruck
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Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 9/18/2023 9:32 AM
GraffZ06 wrote:expand_more
Yeah that Mothman festival. Just wish we could find a way to schedule around it. THEN, look out. Well except for those thousands watching biddy football. That's problematic.
Man the traffic from the peewee football fields to Peden was unheard of. People were just abandoning their cars as they hurried to make that pesky Noon start.
Andrew Ruck
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Alan Swank
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Posted: 9/18/2023 10:07 AM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
I was disappointed in the crowd size as well. People act like they crave names, then we bring in a pretty solid name nationally and it doesn't seem to move the meter an inch.

There was no noteworthy reason why the crowd should be held back. The local reasons discussed are laughable. Weather was perfect. Not even a conflicting OSU game or other big game to watch. To me it just comes down to the casual fan alumni living in state. They should've come and would've had a lovely day, but they continue to choose not to even with a good team, star QB, and notable opponent.

But about half or more of the students staying after halftime was a great development! Hope we see more of that.
Laughable? If I recall correctly, on more than one occasion you had to miss a game because you either had to coach one of your kid's games or they were playing in one. I know it may be hard for you to believe, but people do have lives in addition to a noon football game on a perfectly beautiful Saturday in September.
Of course Alan, I only make it to about half the games due to other family items and I know others are the same. But that is true of every literally every single day on the calendar. There was nothing unique about September 16, 2023 to suppress attendance. And jostling the start time around would just make some able to go and others now not able to go. In fact, my freshman had his JV soccer game at 6:30. Had the game been at 3:30 I would not have been able to attend.

My point is having Iowa State in town on a beautiful day should've triggers a few thousand alumni around the state to say "oh we should go to that" and it clearly didn't move the meter at all, which is disappointing.
Understood and nothing personal meant. I do think though as fairly engaged fans, we overestimate several things - the attractiveness of driving to Athens for a game other than Homecoming, the knowledge that casual fans have about the various conferences around the country, and as harsh as it sounds, prior to 2005, not much success on the field resulting in students not engaged at the time who are now alumni not engaged.
SBH
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Posted: 9/18/2023 10:11 AM
Maybe if we didn't play such gutless football.
Athens
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Posted: 9/18/2023 11:51 AM
Mike Coleman wrote:expand_more
Student attendance was solid but not at the 2015 level. There are 3,000 less undergraduates.
I’m curious where you found this statistic, as the last two enrolled classes rank #1 and #2 in Ohio University history as far as number of enrolled freshmen.
What Alan is saying but also the amount of students taking 5 to 6 years to graduate is also down. Undergraduate enrollment is edging back up but might top out at around 16,000 (from 14,800) with another 2 or 3 big classes.
Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended
2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round
2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl
2015 34-3 drubbing of Fiami @ Peden with 25,086 fans
2023 10-7 near shutout of Iowa State @ Solich Field
2025 17-10 defeat of WVU @ Peden in front of 26,740
Bobcat1996
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Posted: 9/18/2023 8:46 PM
Check attendance numbers for the past several seasons in the MAC. My guess is that only the Glass Bowl in Toledo has better home attendance than Peden Stadium. Considering the population of Toledo compared to Athens, the Bobcats have decent size crowds for most home games.
Deciduous Forest Cat
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Posted: 9/19/2023 10:17 AM
Hosting a P5 on an unbelievably beautiful Fall saturday and only having about 18k in the house is definitely a disappointment. We only have the smallest stadium in D1 practically. ISU didn't show as well as I would have thought, personally.
Bobcat1996
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Posted: 9/19/2023 10:56 AM
Does the athletic department have someone in marketing that is able to come up with creative ideas to get more fans to attend games? A few years ago they used to have free soft drinks and pizza for students a couple of hours before kickoff near the grass practice field. How about doing a promotion for faculty and staff like buy one ticket get one free? One season during the Miami game they gave away tuition for a semester for one lucky student. There are several things that can be done, but not certain the marketing department is trying to promote attendance.
Tymaster
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Posted: 9/22/2023 5:39 PM
Bobcat1996 wrote:expand_more
Does the athletic department have someone in marketing that is able to come up with creative ideas to get more fans to attend games? A few years ago they used to have free soft drinks and pizza for students a couple of hours before kickoff near the grass practice field. How about doing a promotion for faculty and staff like buy one ticket get one free? One season during the Miami game they gave away tuition for a semester for one lucky student. There are several things that can be done, but not certain the marketing department is trying to promote attendance.
They absolutely have people in those roles. That doesn't mean you're going to make the kids that interested. As far as that goes, they lead the MAC in attendance most years, so they see it as fine.
SBH
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Posted: 9/22/2023 6:01 PM
Bobcat1996 wrote:expand_more
Does the athletic department have someone in marketing that is able to come up with creative ideas to get more fans to attend games? A few years ago they used to have free soft drinks and pizza for students a couple of hours before kickoff near the grass practice field. How about doing a promotion for faculty and staff like buy one ticket get one free? One season during the Miami game they gave away tuition for a semester for one lucky student. There are several things that can be done, but not certain the marketing department is trying to promote attendance.
Faculty are a bunch of freeloaders. First in line in the VIP buffets, last to pony up for tix
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