Iceland12
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Saw the Miami Hurricanes mentioned as a team in a Pro Football market with lousy support. Immediately thought of the Pittsburgh Panthers too. Here's article from two seasons back. The writer makes a pretty good case for the Panthers. Gotta love stats and analysis though to stay with him. Big attendance at TCF last year and low this year probably means the Gophers numbers are still relevant today.
Gotta improve them for Minnesota, but it ain't gonna be easy. Even if they bring another big time salesman in. This time with a track record.
There is a lengthy summary at the end of the link.
"For the most part, the biggest factors in determining college football attendance are whether or not your program is the team in the area, a large number of people in the area, including students, and on field success.
Average Attendance of BCS Programs in Cities with a Strong Pro Sports Presence
1. USC 73,196
2. UCLA 70,285
3. Washington 68,769
4. Arizona State 62,689
5. Miami 53,837
6. Stanford 50,726
7. Pittsburgh 49,741
8. California 49,329
9. Georgia Tech 49,077
10. Minnesota 47,797
11. TCU 43,598
12. Northwestern 39,307
13. Colorado 38,463
14. South Florida 34,702
15. Boston College 33,006
16. Cincinnati 31,771
Metro Population
1. USC 13 million
1. UCLA 13 million
3. Northwestern 9.5 million
4. TCU 6.7 million
5. Miami 5.7 million
6. Georgia Tech 5.5 million
7. Boston College 4.6 million
8. California 4.5 million
8. Stanford 4.5 million
10. Arizona State 4.3 million
11. Washington 3.5 million
12. Minnesota 3.4 million
13. South Florida 2.8 million
14. Colorado 2.6 million
15. Pittsburgh 2.4 million
16. Cincinnati 2.1 million
Main Campus Enrollment
1. Arizona State 59,794
2. Minnesota 51,853
3. South Florida 47,646
4. Washington 42,907
5. UCLA 41,812
6. USC 39,958
7. California 35,899
8. Cincinnati 33,329
9. Colorado 31,702
10. Pittsburgh 28,766
11. Georgia Tech 21,557
12. Northwestern 19,219
13. Stanford 15,877
14. Miami 15,657
15. Boston College 14,359
16. TCU 9,725
Top 25 Final Ranking in Last Ten Years
1. USC 8
2. TCU 6
3. Boston College 4
3. Cincinnati 4
3. Stanford 4
6. Miami FL 3
6. Arizona State 3
6. California 3
9. Georgia Tech 2
9. Pittsburgh 2
9. UCLA 2
12. Minnesota 1
12. Northwestern 1
12. Washington 1
15. Colorado 0
15. South Florida 0
If you combine these factors, this is where the attendance of each should rank, and where they do rank. I combined the ranking of the three previous categories (metro population, enrollment, success). The number to the right of their name if the combined rank. For instance, USC is 1st, 1st, and 6th, which gives them a score of 8. The lower the number, the higher the score in this case.
1. USC 8 - What they actually rank: 1
2. UCLA 15 - What they actually rank: 2
3. Arizona State 17 - What they actually rank: 4
4. California 21 - What they actually rank: 8
5. TCU 22 - Where they actually rank: 11
6. Stanford 24 - Where they actually rank: 6
7. Boston College 25 - Where they actually rank: 16
7. Miami 25 - Where they actually rank: 5
9. Georgia Tech 26 - Where they actually rank: 9
9. Minnesota 26 - Where they actually rank: 10
11. Washington 27 - Where they actually rank: 3
11. Cincinnati 27 - Where they actually rank: 16
11. Northwestern 27 - Where they actually rank: 12
14. South Florida 31 - Where they actually rank: 14
15. Pittsburgh 34 - Where they actually rank: 7
16. Colorado 38- Where they actually rank: 13
As you can see, this formula proves to be pretty accurate since the attendance of most schools match up with where they are expected to rank. There are three schools that seem to be underachieving- TCU, Boston College, and Cincinnati. But both TCU and Boston College have extremely small enrollment, which easily explains that. Cincinnati, however, has no excuse.
There are also two schools that averaged significantly higher than where they were expected. Washington should be 11th, but they are actually 3rd in attendance. That number is slightly skewed by the fact that they haven't been very successful on the field in the last decade. But they historically have had a lot of success, and when combined with a large population, a large student body, and just two pro sports teams, it's obvious why their attendance is so high. The other, more impressive overachiever is Pittsburgh, who hasn't had great on field success for decades, has a comparatively small population for a major city, and doesn't have a huge student population.
To be specific, and why it's even more impressive for Pitt, is that Pittsburgh has the smallest metro population of any area that has three major professional sports teams. That means it's difficult enough to sustain three pro sports teams (and three popular ones at that), not to mention a major college football program too...
http://panthersprey.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-myth-of-pitt-football-attendance.html
Gotta improve them for Minnesota, but it ain't gonna be easy. Even if they bring another big time salesman in. This time with a track record.
There is a lengthy summary at the end of the link.
"For the most part, the biggest factors in determining college football attendance are whether or not your program is the team in the area, a large number of people in the area, including students, and on field success.
Average Attendance of BCS Programs in Cities with a Strong Pro Sports Presence
1. USC 73,196
2. UCLA 70,285
3. Washington 68,769
4. Arizona State 62,689
5. Miami 53,837
6. Stanford 50,726
7. Pittsburgh 49,741
8. California 49,329
9. Georgia Tech 49,077
10. Minnesota 47,797
11. TCU 43,598
12. Northwestern 39,307
13. Colorado 38,463
14. South Florida 34,702
15. Boston College 33,006
16. Cincinnati 31,771
Metro Population
1. USC 13 million
1. UCLA 13 million
3. Northwestern 9.5 million
4. TCU 6.7 million
5. Miami 5.7 million
6. Georgia Tech 5.5 million
7. Boston College 4.6 million
8. California 4.5 million
8. Stanford 4.5 million
10. Arizona State 4.3 million
11. Washington 3.5 million
12. Minnesota 3.4 million
13. South Florida 2.8 million
14. Colorado 2.6 million
15. Pittsburgh 2.4 million
16. Cincinnati 2.1 million
Main Campus Enrollment
1. Arizona State 59,794
2. Minnesota 51,853
3. South Florida 47,646
4. Washington 42,907
5. UCLA 41,812
6. USC 39,958
7. California 35,899
8. Cincinnati 33,329
9. Colorado 31,702
10. Pittsburgh 28,766
11. Georgia Tech 21,557
12. Northwestern 19,219
13. Stanford 15,877
14. Miami 15,657
15. Boston College 14,359
16. TCU 9,725
Top 25 Final Ranking in Last Ten Years
1. USC 8
2. TCU 6
3. Boston College 4
3. Cincinnati 4
3. Stanford 4
6. Miami FL 3
6. Arizona State 3
6. California 3
9. Georgia Tech 2
9. Pittsburgh 2
9. UCLA 2
12. Minnesota 1
12. Northwestern 1
12. Washington 1
15. Colorado 0
15. South Florida 0
If you combine these factors, this is where the attendance of each should rank, and where they do rank. I combined the ranking of the three previous categories (metro population, enrollment, success). The number to the right of their name if the combined rank. For instance, USC is 1st, 1st, and 6th, which gives them a score of 8. The lower the number, the higher the score in this case.
1. USC 8 - What they actually rank: 1
2. UCLA 15 - What they actually rank: 2
3. Arizona State 17 - What they actually rank: 4
4. California 21 - What they actually rank: 8
5. TCU 22 - Where they actually rank: 11
6. Stanford 24 - Where they actually rank: 6
7. Boston College 25 - Where they actually rank: 16
7. Miami 25 - Where they actually rank: 5
9. Georgia Tech 26 - Where they actually rank: 9
9. Minnesota 26 - Where they actually rank: 10
11. Washington 27 - Where they actually rank: 3
11. Cincinnati 27 - Where they actually rank: 16
11. Northwestern 27 - Where they actually rank: 12
14. South Florida 31 - Where they actually rank: 14
15. Pittsburgh 34 - Where they actually rank: 7
16. Colorado 38- Where they actually rank: 13
As you can see, this formula proves to be pretty accurate since the attendance of most schools match up with where they are expected to rank. There are three schools that seem to be underachieving- TCU, Boston College, and Cincinnati. But both TCU and Boston College have extremely small enrollment, which easily explains that. Cincinnati, however, has no excuse.
There are also two schools that averaged significantly higher than where they were expected. Washington should be 11th, but they are actually 3rd in attendance. That number is slightly skewed by the fact that they haven't been very successful on the field in the last decade. But they historically have had a lot of success, and when combined with a large population, a large student body, and just two pro sports teams, it's obvious why their attendance is so high. The other, more impressive overachiever is Pittsburgh, who hasn't had great on field success for decades, has a comparatively small population for a major city, and doesn't have a huge student population.
To be specific, and why it's even more impressive for Pitt, is that Pittsburgh has the smallest metro population of any area that has three major professional sports teams. That means it's difficult enough to sustain three pro sports teams (and three popular ones at that), not to mention a major college football program too...
http://panthersprey.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-myth-of-pitt-football-attendance.html