jcmanson wrote:
The grassy section is inside the stadium. We have three sections of reserved seating, the rest are all general admission which includes students, alumni, visiting team fans, etc. In order to sit in the grass, stand in the concourse, etc. you have to buy a GA ticket. So, yes all the people sitting in the grass are “counted” towards the 15k number. The 60k number I will likely never see in my lifetime, but it’s something my kids or grandkids could see.
As for FBS, we have never stated anything publicly as far as moving up. Our administration has always said we are just putting ourselves in the best position possible to be the best team we can possibly be. Whether that’s at FBS or FCS, that’s our goal. It’s hard to put a date on when we could make the jump as there are so many variables out of our control. Right now we’re just trying to be the best FCS program in the country.
And you can't compare SBU students attending to LU students attending. Our students come out in droves. I don't know the exact numbers, but we probably average around 7,000 students per game. We have just over 11,000 on campus students. It's our culture. If we increase our enrollment to 15,000 our attendance WILL increase by 2 or 3k. You can't compare our campus community with any other university in the world.
Our attendance has increased greatly under Rocco (4 seasons). In 2006, Rocco’s first season, we averaged 11,128. In 2008, our average was 14,190. And 2009, we averaged 14,931. Our top 17 all-time attended games have happened in the past 3 seasons. I see no reason why these numbers won’t continue to rise especially with the expansion.
I couldn't find the numbers, but I can guarantee you our average attendance for 2005 (pre-Rocco) was probably 6 or 7,000.
1. Thanks for the explanation about stadium structure. That makes far more sense to me, and certainly justifies the 120%+ attendance. Your timeframe, should Liberty EVER get close to 60K, is, I believe, correct. I'll stand by my belief that the school is just too niche to get that number.
2. That's a very lofty statement, saying that you can't compare any other University in the world with Liberty. First, as a Cambridge grad I'll say that you guys won't come close to the turnout percentages at the Oxford/Cambridge rugby game or boat race. Turnout for Rugby (held about an hour from either campus) fills 3/4 of Twickenham (the British national rugby stadium), indicating roughly a 40-50K turnout. Given that both campuses post about 20K students/professors combined, this is VERY impressive (most attending are university members. It's difficult for alumni to secure tickets since they're sold within the universities, not nationally). The boat race is internationally televised and, by British estimates, commands the better part of 300K over the stretch of river the race is held on (it's likely higher. I mean, it is held in the dead center of London). This strong turnout makes sense. A census held at Cambridge in 2009 showed that over 1/3 of the school competes in intercollegiate (Cambridge college vs. Cambridge college) rowing. Find me any sport's participation rate in the US that's that high. Even soccer and basketball won't come close.
But back to football. My guess would be that Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Michigan, LSU, USC, (list goes on)'s fans would disagree that Liberty is anything special. It's a school. Yes, a school that holds a very high degree of student loyalty, but a school nonetheless. Until I see students "tenting" ala Duke for football tickets, I can't believe that uniqueness.
This isn't a shot at Liberty, but rather an attempt to prove that Liberty should feel no "special place" within the college football microcosm.
3. What you said about Rocco's influence on attendance scares me. Given this, when (and it's clearly when given the close call this year) Rocco leaves, will Liberty's football program collapse?
, I suppose.
