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I'm new to this board. I know a fair amount about each CAA team but not a lot about non-CAA teams beyond App. State, Montana & YSU.

The CAA has avg home game numbers all over the place with the South Division leading the way. I'm throwing out a WAG of 17,000 per game in the South including ODU's crazy year one numbers...

ODU 20,000+
Deleware 20,000+
JMU 17,000ish (on the rise)
W&M 12,000ish
Towson 10,000ish
UR 8,000ish

Which conference is the attendance leader A-Z?

What do other conference average per game?

GO JMU DUKES!

Welcome!


2008 Average attendance is here - FBS first, then FCS

http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/fo ... e/2008.pdf

Conference is on page 8 of the PDF

Colonial is 8th in average attendance

1) SWAC
2) Southern
3) Missouri Valley
4) Big Sky
5) MEAC
6) Southland
7) IVY
8) Colonial
9) Great West
10) Ohio Valley
11) Big South
12) Patriot
13) Pioneer
14) Independents
15) Northeast

dbackjon wrote:Welcome!


2008 Average attendance is here - FBS first, then FCS

No link big dog? I have the NCAA link somewhere but would have to look for it. I would think the CAA is first with possibly BSC, or MVFC, SoCon being fairly close. CAA has good #'s and I'm very impressed with Towson.

UD averaged 21,609
JMU 15,362
WM 9,738
UR 7,337
Villanova 6,691
Towson 4,980

Wow, I was way off. I also didn't even think about the SWAC and Ivy's.

If you're not in the playoffs then I don't consider you in anything I guess.

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote:

dbackjon wrote:Welcome!


2008 Average attendance is here - FBS first, then FCS

No link big dog? I have the NCAA link somewhere but would have to look for it. I would think the CAA is first with possibly BSC, or MVFC, SoCon being fairly close. CAA has good #'s and I'm very impressed with Towson.

Added...

And you are wrong - CAA 8th...

dbackjon wrote:UD averaged 21,609
JMU 15,362
WM 9,738
UR 7,337
Villanova 6,691
Towson 4,980

OK, now I'm not as impressed with Towson.

dbackjon wrote:

Ursus A. Horribilis wrote: No link big dog? I have the NCAA link somewhere but would have to look for it. I would think the CAA is first with possibly BSC, or MVFC, SoCon being fairly close. CAA has good #'s and I'm very impressed with Towson.

Added...

And you are wrong - CAA 8th...

Yeah I made that correction just prior to your post and admitted ignorance on more than one part of it.

Swac........don't......count..


"Dem.....classics....be..

Bangin"

It's always been either the SWAC or the SoCon as the attendance leaders. Mostly the SWAC though.

Sorry, but ODU isn't going to help the CAA much. Too many low-drawing teams.

For instance, I'll compare it to the SoCon since I'm familiar with it.

1. Appalachian State - SoCon #1
3. Delaware - CAA #1
5. Georgia Southern - SoCon #2
10. James Madison - CAA #2
18. Massachusetts - CAA #3
19. El Citadel - SoCon #3
30. Furman - SoCon #4
34. William and Mary - CAA #4
39. Elon - SoCon #5
47. Western Carolina - SoCon #6
50. New Hampshire - CAA #5
53. Wofford - SoCon #7
56. Richmond - CAA #6
59. Samford - Socon #8
64. Villanova - CAA #7
70. Chattanooga - SoCon #9
81. Towson - CAA #8
84. Rhode Island - CAA #9
86. Maine - CAA #10
98. Hofstra - CAA #11
105. Northeastern - CAA #12

Even if you cut out the bottom three CAA teams so it's 9 vs 9, the attendance average only goes from 8,954 to 10,425, which would place it 5th on the list (Yes I did the math).

CAA people have talked about the advantages of a 12-team conference. This isn't one of them.

T-Dog wrote:Sorry, but ODU isn't going to help the CAA much. Too many low-drawing teams.

ODU will have large numbers because we've sold well over 14,000 season tickets. For our first year, it won't matter who we play, because frankly very few of our fans have heard of many FCS teams outside of JMU, UR, Delaware, and the other CAA teams we usually face in basketball. Even App State winning three National Championships will draw blank stares from ODU football fans until we get into FCS football and discover which teams are good and which aren't because FCS football wasn't on our radar until we started playing. We will show up to watch ODU football, not the opponent.

But as for helping out the CAA numbers, we won't in the first two years because we don't officially become CAA until 2011. But we will have solid numbers for an independent and because most of us are heavily invested in ODU football both financially and time wise, we will continue to go to the games regardless of the opponent or score so that in 2011 we should be a boost to CAA attendance figures.

Monarch Nation wrote:

T-Dog wrote:Sorry, but ODU isn't going to help the CAA much. Too many low-drawing teams.

ODU will have large numbers because we've sold well over 14,000 season tickets. For our first year, it won't matter who we play, because frankly very few of our fans have heard of many FCS teams outside of JMU, UR, Delaware, and the other CAA teams we usually face in basketball. Even App State winning three National Championships will draw blank stares from ODU football fans until we get into FCS football and discover which teams are good and which aren't because FCS football wasn't on our radar until we started playing. We will show up to watch ODU football, not the opponent.

But as for helping out the CAA numbers, we won't in the first two years because we don't officially become CAA until 2011. But we will have solid numbers for an independent and because most of us are heavily invested in ODU football both financially and time wise, we will continue to go to the games regardless of the opponent or score so that in 2011 we should be a boost to CAA attendance figures.

Exactly. People who don't know ODU and the excitement that fan base has for this team aren't CAA. Monarch Nation is correct about the attendance not helping the conference for a couple years, but during that time they should easily manage to average somewhere between JMU and Delaware.

The only difference is that ODU is playing a collection of Division II and non-schollie IAA teams during this time. They won't have a winning record this season or probably the next. They shouldn't have a problem drawing numbers in the upper teens at this point, with the novelty factor, until they enter CAA play. No offense, MN, but I can't see attendance numbers staying up when Richmond, Villanova, or JMU are wiping you guys out that first year. People will be able to see the talent disparity firsthand and will in all likelihood slowly stop coming. It won't be for a couple seasons afterward when you've had a class or two go all the way through and ODU finally becomes competitive that people will return.

Yeah, we're going to take it in the teeth the first few CAA years, but then not everybody can be Ga State and skate right to the SEC.

Monarch Nation wrote:

T-Dog wrote:Sorry, but ODU isn't going to help the CAA much. Too many low-drawing teams.

ODU will have large numbers because we've sold well over 14,000 season tickets. For our first year, it won't matter who we play, because frankly very few of our fans have heard of many FCS teams outside of JMU, UR, Delaware, and the other CAA teams we usually face in basketball. Even App State winning three National Championships will draw blank stares from ODU football fans until we get into FCS football and discover which teams are good and which aren't because FCS football wasn't on our radar until we started playing. We will show up to watch ODU football, not the opponent.

But as for helping out the CAA numbers, we won't in the first two years because we don't officially become CAA until 2011. But we will have solid numbers for an independent and because most of us are heavily invested in ODU football both financially and time wise, we will continue to go to the games regardless of the opponent or score so that in 2011 we should be a boost to CAA attendance figures.

I was talking about in relation to the CAA being low on average attendance compared to the SWAC, SoCon, MEAC, Big Sky and now the MVFC (which was given a big boost by NDSU and SDSU).

Going by this year's numbers, even if ODU has 14,000 per game for six home games, it'll only bring the average up from 8,954 to 9,341 (an increase of 387 people), which would bring it up to 6th in front of the Ivy and Southland.

DukeJack wrote:No offense, MN, but I can't see attendance numbers staying up when Richmond, Villanova, or JMU are wiping you guys out that first year. People will be able to see the talent disparity firsthand and will in all likelihood slowly stop coming. It won't be for a couple seasons afterward when you've had a class or two go all the way through and ODU finally becomes competitive that people will return.

People were saying the same thing was going to happen to Samford after they entered the Socon. Quite a few teams were embarrased in 2008.

bobbythekidd wrote:

DukeJack wrote:No offense, MN, but I can't see attendance numbers staying up when Richmond, Villanova, or JMU are wiping you guys out that first year. People will be able to see the talent disparity firsthand and will in all likelihood slowly stop coming. It won't be for a couple seasons afterward when you've had a class or two go all the way through and ODU finally becomes competitive that people will return.

People were saying the same thing was going to happen to Samford after they entered the Socon. Quite a few teams were embarrased in 2008.

The difference is that Samford was an established program when they joined the SoCon. ODU is starting from scratch and entering into arguably the toughest conference in IAA with only two years of football experience. They won't even have a class go through by this time. ODU will be competitive sooner than people think, but I hope that first season won't have people giving up on the team.

Monarch Nation wrote:Yeah, we're going to take it in the teeth the first few CAA years, but then not everybody can be Ga State and skate right to the SEC.

I can't wait for those unrealistic pricks to take it in the teeth that first year of play, then in CAA. Bama in year one? Ohhhh, they got something coming.

You can clearly see that support of football is highest in the Southeast and lowest in the Northeast. Being second behind only the SWAC is not bad at all considering the SoCon football members are 44.4% private schools (higher than any other autobid conference outside the Patriot League) that don't exactly have large numbers of living alumni. Hard to believe that Western Carolina has better attendance than New Hampshire, but it's true.

Harvard average over 17K for 5 games! Number 7 in all of FCS! Even if you back out the 30K for the Yale game, that leaves a 14K average for the other 4 games. Impresssive!

Wow, I was off a bit in the original post...on the high side ...Towson isn't drawing 5,000? I must have seen a number for homecoming...I think CAA South numbers will climb. If GMU & VCU ever field teams, CAA South numbers go >...

One thing I don't like about the CAA North, no hate rivalries elevating attendance...It's hard to hate Rhode Island when we beat them 45-0 every game...

JMUpurplehazed wrote:Wow, I was off a bit in the original post...on the high side ...Towson isn't drawing 5,000? I must have seen a number for homecoming...I think CAA South numbers will climb. If GMU & VCU ever field teams, CAA South numbers go >...

One thing I don't like about the CAA North, no hate rivalries elevating attendance...It's hard to hate Rhode Island when we beat them 45-0 every game...

In 2007 we were @7000.
Factors that effected the 2500 drop, other than us completely sucking.
Horrendeous weather. 2 games in down pours and 1 in an actual tropical storm...

This picture was taken at 4pm under the lights. A TS was rolling through.

...not an excuse, but for a school that has a hard enough time getting the students to the stadium, poor weather hurts badly. Our average will climb back up into 7000+ this year with our new coach.

Well you played UD at home in 2007 too & not in 2008.

bluehenbillk wrote:Well you played UD at home in 2007 too & not in 2008.

Yeah that too. But in '06 we were close to 6000 without you.

When the weather is nice, the problem goes from getting the students out of their dorms to getting the students out of the parking lots and into the stands.

The combination of UD coming to town and a new coach and big PR push to get people out, if we win a couple cames early, we could push close to 8000. But I think high 6K low 7K is a better bet.

andy7171 wrote: Factors that effected the 2500 drop, other than us completely sucking.
Horrendeous weather. 2 games in down pours and 1 in an actual tropical storm...

I know I knock on Nova's game attendance but I think you can attribute some of their low numbers last season to the weather also. My brother (Nova grad) and my sister in law (JMU grad) have Villanova season tickets with about 20+ other friends who graduated from Nova... I know for a fact none of them showed up for the JMU v Nova game last year... most other fans probably decided to stay in the warm confines of their home that Saturday too. Not to mention the Phillies were playing in the World Series right down the road the same day...

I mean, look at the stands when Landers throws this hail mary bomb!
[youtube][/youtube]
I love this video....

JMU DJ wrote:I mean, look at the stands when Landers throws this hail mary bomb!
[youtube][/youtube]
I love this video....

In fairness to our Villanova brethren, that was JMU's side of the stadium. What the cameras don't show is the (nearly) full 'Nova side, plus three ecstatic Dukes.