Citrus Bowl had smallest crowd since 1979, Outback smallest since 1986

[BleedGopher]

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Announced attendance at this season's 35 returning postseason games declined 4 percent and the average overall bowl crowd declined for the fifth straight year, according to an analysis by CBSSports.com.

The trend of college football crowds turning into a studio show continued in the 2014-15 postseason. The College Football Playoff's championship game drew 33.4 million viewers, the most-watched program in cable TV history after surpassing semifinal viewership numbers of around 28 million for both games.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...down-4-percent-for-returning-bowls-in-2014-15

Go Gophers!!

 

[Gopher07]

TV ratings were up for several bowls this year (including the national championship, Rose, Sugar, and Cotton bowls) but there was a decline from last year for the Citrus Bowl - a 3.6 rating (down from 5.6 last year and 6.6 the year prior). No doubt that is partially due to the added competition of the Cotton Bowl at the same time, though the Outback bowl did see increased ratings with the additional competition.

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/201...rose-sugar-ohio-state-oregon-viewership-espn/

 

[Maximus]

Way to go Missouri.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Having a team that played in the Conference championship game may have had an affect on attendance for Missouri and Wisconsin. MN was the only team of the four with any excitement going into the games.

 

[Jike Spingleton]

Having a team that played in the Conference championship game may have had an affect on attendance for Missouri and Wisconsin. MN was the only team of the four with any excitement going into the games.

I'm sure losing conference title games had a negative effect on Missouri and Wisconsin, but Auburn did very well, selling more than 16,000 tickets for the Outback Bowl.

 

[MNGoldenGophers1]

Way to go Missouri.

Ha!

 

[Jayeyem]

I'm sure losing conference title games had a negative effect on Missouri and Wisconsin, but Auburn did very well, selling more than 16,000 tickets for the Outback Bowl.

Majority of Auburn's fan base is going to be comfortable driving distance to Outback Bowl (Tampa is less than 7 hours from Auburn).

 

[MNVCGUY]

TV ratings were up for several bowls this year (including the national championship, Rose, Sugar, and Cotton bowls) but there was a decline from last year for the Citrus Bowl - a 3.6 rating (down from 5.6 last year and 6.6 the year prior). No doubt that is partially due to the added competition of the Cotton Bowl at the same time, though the Outback bowl did see increased ratings with the additional competition.

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/201...rose-sugar-ohio-state-oregon-viewership-espn/

The ratings decline for the Citrus Bowl is not a huge shock given that Minnesota and Missouri are not the kind of National names that will draw in a lot of casual viewers. Also not shocking is the continued decline in bowl game attendance year after year, there are so many games and the cost to go is so high. Plus getting to a bowl is not the huge accomplishment that it once was so in a lot of cases people just don't travel unless there is something new or special about the game (ie Gophers in first Jan 1 bowl in a long time). We saw that for years here with the low attendance numbers for the lower tier bowl games. Once we got to a good one people came out big time but prior to that there was very little fan excitement leading up to the mid tier bowl games.

 

[MNGoldenGophers1]

The ratings decline for the Citrus Bowl is not a huge shock given that Minnesota and Missouri are not the kind of National names that will draw in a lot of casual viewers. Also not shocking is the continued decline in bowl game attendance year after year, there are so many games and the cost to go is so high. Plus getting to a bowl is not the huge accomplishment that it once was so in a lot of cases people just don't travel unless there is something new or special about the game (ie Gophers in first Jan 1 bowl in a long time). We saw that for years here with the low attendance numbers for the lower tier bowl games. Once we got to a good one people came out big time but prior to that there was very little fan excitement leading up to the mid tier bowl games.

I only wish you had told me this before I decided to attend that bowl in Houston, twice ;-)

 

[Lakeville Goldy]

Having a team that played in the Conference championship game may have had an affect on attendance for Missouri and Wisconsin. MN was the only team of the four with any excitement going into the games.

I have to admit, had MN gone to the B1G championship and lost, I'm not sure I would have gone to the Bowl game. Not that I wouldn't want to, but I only have X amount of vacation and money. If they had won and made it to a NY 6 Bowl game I would have just "figured it out", but if not I probably would have stayed home.

 

[MNfootballfan]

Having a team that played in the Conference championship game may have had an affect on attendance for Missouri and Wisconsin. MN was the only team of the four with any excitement going into the games.

I was talking with a couple from Missouri about this at a bar in Orlando. They made the comment that they went to the SEC Championship and were really on the fence to travel to Orlando.

Someday I will have to make that decision. I would probably pass up the bowl game to attend the Big Ten Championship. It would be a hard decision.

 

[e.bigelow]

I was talking with a couple from Missouri about this at a bar in Orlando. They made the comment that they went to the SEC Championship and were really on the fence to travel to Orlando.

Someday I will have to make that decision. I would probably pass up the bowl game to attend the Big Ten Championship. It would be a hard decision.

The group of people that I went with to Orlando were dead set on Indy if we would have beaten Wisconsin. The only bowl that I would have gone to if I would have attend the B1G Ten Championship game would have been the Rose Bowl, but that was not going to happen. I maybe would have attended the Cotton due to a more manageable driving distance.