STrib: College football mystery: Why don't students go to games?

[BleedGopher]

Two hours before kickoff, the three-story Sigma Pi fraternity house was vibrating.

A dozen fraternity members, many wearing University of Minnesota football jerseys and shirts, were on the front lawn tossing a football. Hamburgers were on the grill, Bruce Springsteen songs pounded through speakers hanging out a window, and the crowd headed to the game already was streaming by.

The game — Sigma Pi is the closest fraternity to 50,000-seat TCF Bank Stadium — was just a block away.

But Michael Schaak, a kinesiology major who wore a “J-e-r-r-y-s-o-t-a” T-shirt, a nod to Gophers head coach Jerry Kill, said he had things to do and was not going. Eric Kuehn was going but said he had no idea who the Gophers were playing. Cole Sundquic, a senior biology major, said he normally goes — he was not this day — and complained of the slow pace of the games.

Even among the school’s most ardent football fans, members of the fraternities and sororities that line University Avenue near the five-year-old stadium, there is head-scratching about why the school has trouble filling the stadium’s student section. Before the first game in late August, school officials said packages had boosted student season-ticket sales for football to 5,043, roughly half of the 10,000 seats allotted for students.

The phenomenon is not confined to Minnesota. There have been empty seats at games in the Southeastern Conference, the country’s premiere college football league. And two weeks ago, with Michigan State hosting Nebraska in a pivotal game, Michigan State’s athletic director took to social media, criticizing students who were leaving the game early.

As schools rush to enhance the “Game Day” experience for students by offering cheaper tickets and Wi-Fi in stadiums, there are indications they may be offering only partial solutions. There are the usual theories as to why it is happening, including students’ ability to get a better, cheaper view of the game on their own big-screen TV. But there is also a sense that something more fundamental is afoot, and that students, if they go, see games as something they may stop momentarily to see.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/279516792.html

Go Gophers!!

 

[Dr.Don]

So many of them are spoiled brats who don't care about anything but fuching.

 

[17thAveHallofFame]

Not to sound like a prick but I'll give a current student perspective like I always do. I have a bunch of friends that are Greek and I nearly went Greek myself, but I do have some complaints about the way they've been treating football games which I'll get to later. Just for some background, this year I've been rolling out of bed at about 7, throwing on on some Under Armour and my Jerrysota tee, and galloping to the nearest kegger. The keggers are great, always packed, and honestly by the looks of them you wonder why the student section is having so much trouble.

Occasionally I'll go to a Greek tailgate later in the morning, but again I'm started to get a little pissed at the Greek system and the way it's been treating athletics. You'll see all the guys out drinking before the game, having a blast, but come kick off they either head back inside the house to pass out or just keep drinking. Now I feel for them don't get me wrong, drinking at 7AM makes it difficult if your going to be partying Saturday night..but I mean come on guys. If you read the full Star Tribune article it's amazing how spot on some of those guys are perpetuating the entitlement stereotype in the Greek system at the U. It's very important to say there are a ton of Greek students at the game, don't get me wrong. The Greeks have some of the craziest fans and are great to party with before, during, and after the game. I just wish there were more. I've brought this up before but I'm kinda wondering why the IFC doesn't have a game attendance contest with some prizes for all the houses.

It's unfair for me to put all this weight on the Greeks, its an entire student body problem. The difference is the Greek system has a sweet opportunity to set the tone for students on going to games and making football a big deal, but it kinda seems like they'd rather just throw tailgates and get ready for the Saturday night parties instead of going through with heading to the games, and that's really disappointing.

 

[station19]

"This is a generation that grew up with ESPN, [and] they’re used to seeing highlights,” he said. “They want it now.

“To sit there and wait for the outcome of the game almost seems to be asking too much.”

 

[station19]

Not to sound like a prick but I'll give a current student perspective like I always do. I have a bunch of friends that are Greek and I nearly went Greek myself, but I do have some complaints about the way they've been treating football games which I'll get to later. Just for some background, this year I've been rolling out of bed at about 7, throwing on on some Under Armour and my Jerrysota tee, and galloping to the nearest kegger. The keggers are great, always packed, and honestly by the looks of them you wonder why the student section is having so much trouble.

Occasionally I'll go to a Greek tailgate later in the morning, but again I'm started to get a little pissed at the Greek system and the way it's been treating athletics. You'll see all the guys out drinking before the game, having a blast, but come kick off they either head back inside the house to pass out or just keep drinking. Now I feel for them don't get me wrong, drinking at 7AM makes it difficult if your going to be partying Saturday night..but I mean come on guys. If you read the full Star Tribune article it's amazing how spot on some of those guys are perpetuating the entitlement stereotype in the Greek system at the U. It's very important to say there are a ton of Greek students at the game, don't get me wrong. The Greeks have some of the craziest fans and are great to party with before, during, and after the game. I just wish there were more. I've brought this up before but I'm kinda wondering why the IFC doesn't have a game attendance contest with some prizes for all the houses.

It's unfair for me to put all this weight on the Greeks, its an entire student body problem. The difference is the Greek system has a sweet opportunity to set the tone for students on going to games and making football a big deal, but it kinda seems like they'd rather just throw tailgates and get ready for the Saturday night parties instead of going through with heading to the games, and that's really disappointing.

Enjoyed the insight, thanks.

This should be a great opportunity for the Greeks.

 

[ruppertflywheel]

It is the now generation, or the new generation. Mark my words this group will have a high percentage of blood pressure problems in their golden years from drugs and alcohol.

 

[station19]

It is the now generation, or the new generation. Mark my words this group will have a high percentage of blood pressure problems in their golden years from drugs and alcohol.

I've got a feeling I won't be around to find out.

 

[Golden_Sloth]

It is the now generation, or the new generation. Mark my words this group will have a high percentage of blood pressure problems in their golden years from drugs and alcohol.

I see the old guard is once again taking baseless shots at the younger generation. How hard is it to google this stuff and not make yourself look foolish?

 

[GG07]

It is the now generation, or the new generation. Mark my words this group will have a high percentage of blood pressure problems in their golden years from drugs and alcohol.

yeah... I'm sure your generation didn't do drugs. What year were you born? Anyway enjoy your social security check and your advanced healthcare in the future that will be done by the "new generstion"

 

[e.bigelow]

It is the now generation, or the new generation. Mark my words this group will have a high percentage of blood pressure problems in their golden years from drugs and alcohol.

HAHA. Listen to this guy. As aposed to high blood pressure and heart problems from eating double cheeseburgers and smoking cigarettes from the "older" generation? I can make blanket statements also.

 

[Schnauzer]

The problem may appear a bit worse here as we are still dealing with a relatively new stadium where a culture of winning and handed down gameday traditions did not develop right away. Obviously things would look better today if the Brewster years had been successful. But, as the article points out, this issue isn't unique to the "U". I can't help but notice the way nearly the entire Wisconsin student section is empty for the start of Badger games. Earlier this season I thought to myself "how fun will it be when the Gophers get the kind of attention showered upon the big Michigan State/Nebraska matchup." Yet, there were open spaces all over that stadium for that game and the students were pouring out all game long, despite their team winning, and just coming off a Rose Bowl victory.

I have said this before and I will say it again: The money aspect and that dude in the red cap makes it difficult for ME to attend a game in person, and I can imagine this is even more prounounced for students. 4+ hours is a long time to demand the attention of kids now-a-days. Think of it this way: those of us that have grown up with football have developed an affinity for it and are much more likely to put up with TV timeouts. For the kids in the stands at Gopher games, all they know is football where an endless stream of commercials, TV timeouts, play reviews, etc. are only punctuated with game play.

I said this in another thread but... college kids are college kids. Decent MIAC teams have no problem drawing students to games. Most MIAC schools draw a MUCH higher percentage of their students to games and the product is DIII, not power conference DI. Why? Yes, it is cheaper - no doubt. But to me the main difference is they are watching a 2-2.5 hour game played by the exact same rules with no boring TV timeouts, and they always know the games start at 1:00 on Saturday. Compare that to the B1G where you don't know when a game will start until two weeks prior, and you can plan on a 4+ hour committment for your Saturday.

I hate to see the empty student section seats, just like everyone else. I used to think, like many, that "winning will solve this". But, the team is winning NOW and for a look at the future of what winning will bring, look no further than Wisconsin or Michigan State. Sure, there may be more student tickets sold, but they will likely still be arriving mid second quarter and will be leaving mid third quarter. That is, unless they find an unlikely way to get rid of the guy with the red hat and actually play football. $$$$$

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

College football has sold its soul to become more TV friendly. That's fine, the TV deals are worth more than the ticket revenue, so it is a business fair decision to go to more and longer TV timeouts in order to produce more lucrative television contracts. But you can't have your cake and eat it to. It always shocks me that people make the product more TV friendly at the expense of the in person experience (while at the same time, technology has improved the quality of TV broadcasts), and then act surprised when more people turn off from the live product to watch it on TV.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

The problem may appear a bit worse here as we are still dealing with a relatively new stadium where a culture of winning and handed down gameday traditions did not develop right away. Obviously things would look better today if the Brewster years had been successful. But, as the article points out, this issue isn't unique to the "U". I can't help but notice the way nearly the entire Wisconsin student section is empty for the start of Badger games. Earlier this season I thought to myself "how fun will it be when the Gophers get the kind of attention showered upon the big Michigan State/Nebraska matchup." Yet, there were open spaces all over that stadium for that game and the students were pouring out all game long, despite their team winning, and just coming off a Rose Bowl victory.

I have said this before and I will say it again: The money aspect and that dude in the red cap makes it difficult for ME to attend a game in person, and I can imagine this is even more prounounced for students. 4+ hours is a long time to demand the attention of kids now-a-days. Think of it this way: those of us that have grown up with football have developed an affinity for it and are much more likely to put up with TV timeouts. For the kids in the stands at Gopher games, all they know is football where an endless stream of commercials, TV timeouts, play reviews, etc. are only punctuated with game play.

I said this in another thread but... college kids are college kids. Decent MIAC teams have no problem drawing students to games. Most MIAC schools draw a MUCH higher percentage of their students to games and the product is DIII, not power conference DI. Why? Yes, it is cheaper - no doubt. But to me the main difference is they are watching a 2-2.5 hour game played by the exact same rules with no boring TV timeouts, and they always know the games start at 1:00 on Saturday. Compare that to the B1G where you don't know when a game will start until two weeks prior, and you can plan on a 4+ hour committment for your Saturday.

I hate to see the empty student section seats, just like everyone else. I used to think, like many, that "winning will solve this". But, the team is winning NOW and for a look at the future of what winning will bring, look no further than Wisconsin or Michigan State. Sure, there may be more student tickets sold, but they will likely still be arriving mid second quarter and will be leaving mid third quarter. That is, unless they find an unlikely way to get rid of the guy with the red hat and actually play football. $$$$$

Disagree with the bold to some extent. We have made some nice improvements, but we are still over a decade removed from either a winning B1G season or a win over our biggest rival.

 

[Schnauzer]

Disagree with the bold to some extent. We have made some nice improvements, but we are still over a decade removed from either a winning B1G season or a win over our biggest rival.

Yeah, we will have to agree to disagree on that one. In my book 5-1 is indeed winning. I would also consider 8-4 to be winning.

When the Gophers won enough to reach a bowl game, people said "Ya but show me Big 10 victories". In the unlikely event the team goes 8-0 in conference this year there will be people saying "Ya but the Big 10 is down." I realize this attitude will remain, regardless of overall wins and losses. This is, afterall, Minnesota.

 

[BleedGopher]

The problem may appear a bit worse here as we are still dealing with a relatively new stadium where a culture of winning and handed down gameday traditions did not develop right away. Obviously things would look better today if the Brewster years had been successful. But, as the article points out, this issue isn't unique to the "U". I can't help but notice the way nearly the entire Wisconsin student section is empty for the start of Badger games. Earlier this season I thought to myself "how fun will it be when the Gophers get the kind of attention showered upon the big Michigan State/Nebraska matchup." Yet, there were open spaces all over that stadium for that game and the students were pouring out all game long, despite their team winning, and just coming off a Rose Bowl victory.

I have said this before and I will say it again: The money aspect and that dude in the red cap makes it difficult for ME to attend a game in person, and I can imagine this is even more prounounced for students. 4+ hours is a long time to demand the attention of kids now-a-days. Think of it this way: those of us that have grown up with football have developed an affinity for it and are much more likely to put up with TV timeouts. For the kids in the stands at Gopher games, all they know is football where an endless stream of commercials, TV timeouts, play reviews, etc. are only punctuated with game play.

I said this in another thread but... college kids are college kids. Decent MIAC teams have no problem drawing students to games. Most MIAC schools draw a MUCH higher percentage of their students to games and the product is DIII, not power conference DI. Why? Yes, it is cheaper - no doubt. But to me the main difference is they are watching a 2-2.5 hour game played by the exact same rules with no boring TV timeouts, and they always know the games start at 1:00 on Saturday. Compare that to the B1G where you don't know when a game will start until two weeks prior, and you can plan on a 4+ hour committment for your Saturday.

I hate to see the empty student section seats, just like everyone else. I used to think, like many, that "winning will solve this". But, the team is winning NOW and for a look at the future of what winning will bring, look no further than Wisconsin or Michigan State. Sure, there may be more student tickets sold, but they will likely still be arriving mid second quarter and will be leaving mid third quarter. That is, unless they find an unlikely way to get rid of the guy with the red hat and actually play football. $$$$$

Ha! Love the "Red Hat Guy" comment. People in our section complain about him all the time and it does seem like he's on the field for longer and longer periods of time (I have no data to back that up, it just feels that way). Granted, the guy in the red hat pays the bills, but as bleedsmaroonandgold points out, don't act surprised at the cause and effect in this situation.

Go Gophers!!

 

[DLguy]

If the Masters and soccer can be so successful without all the tv timeouts, so can football. I just dont see the need for all of the tv timeouts. Have adds running on the bottom of the page. Or have someone sponser the score icon. This isnt that hard. They just need to go thru with it. If all games are cut down to under 3 hours, then you all of a sudden have room for another game time slot. That means more teams are being seen by more people. Isnt that only a benefit of any conference?

 

[BarnBoy]

With all the “social media” advancements, the world is actually becoming much less social. Why go to Coffman Union and hang out with friends when I can "hang out with them" on my new iPhone 6?

Bus stops, light rail rides, airports. Wherever you go, you see drones of people with their phone smashed into their face. Nobody talks anymore. It's sort of appalling and shameful to see a table full of people at a restaurant “sharing a meal”.

Additionally, the “need it now” element to society is also driven by technology. The 24/7 news cycle and "immediacy" culture has made patience a thing of the past. Give it to me know. Why watch the game when I can see the highlights in real-time from my bathroom. Why experience something when I can just read about it on Twitter in real-time? I know someone that live-tweeted their own wedding and I just about wanted to vomit after they told me.

The problem is much deeper than college football attendance. We are raising a generation of kids that will not understand what it means to actually be social. What is means to have patience. What it means to lose and wait for something better.

Technology is wonderful, but we have to look at the element of technology that is actually making us dumber as a society. The element that is making us regress

It’s not the kids fault. It’s our fault. We are business leaders, civic leaders. We are on school boards. We own stock in technology companies.

That was my “old man moment” of the day.

 

[e.bigelow]

Ha! Love the "Red Hat Guy" comment. People in our section complain about him all the time and it does seem like he's on the field for longer and longer periods of time (I have no data to back that up, it just feels that way). Granted, the guy in the red hat pays the bills, but as bleedsmaroonandgold points out, don't act surprised at the cause and effect in this situation.

Go Gophers!!

You make good points, Bleed. But I will be honest. With where I sit for my season tickets, the group of us and people around us hardly notice the TV timeouts. The TV timeouts are usually spent talking football, life or family/personal lives as we have come to know the people we sit near since TCF opened up (which was my first year as a non-student season ticket holder after graduating). So, for myself, it really doesn't bother me and the people that attend with me (six tickets together) as we are all able to talk about different aspects of the game and other things during these breaks. I know everyone's situation is different, but just thought I would share what my opinion on it is.

 

[Com_Cool]

It's not like NOTHING is happening during all these breaks. They do a pretty good job of keeping a drunk com_cool entertained with the national championship dance team and a tshirt gattling gun. I guess the students are not as entertained by dancers and weapons that distribute clothing as I am.

 

[SuperSenior13]

So many of them are spoiled brats who don't care about anything but fuching.

As a recent graduate... I agree

 

[Maximus]

That amazing scene in Kansas City a couple of nights ago and a large percentage of the folks, of all ages, in attendance experienced it by looking at the back of their phones.

 

[TrapperDoo]

Look at the pic in the article. The girl is playing her god-damn cell phone! You know she's not trying to find a good Chinese restaurant in the area or the solution to a differential equation. She's checking her Facebook page or her texts or what ever - but her mind no doubt is centered immediately on herself and how she controls this. Technology and modern society have delivered this to her and she now has the luxury of being able to dedicate all of her social energy to herself without the need for anything external (that she can't control) to help satisfy her social needs. She doesn't need the football team to anchor her social orbit, to amplify her social energy, or to commune with other humans. All she needs right there in the palm of her hand. Too bad. She missed the game.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

I just don't really think this is only about students. It varies from game to game, but I'd say on average the student section is as full (sometimes more full) as a percent of available seats than many general admission seats. Yes, there are 50,000 students at the U. so we would expect an 8k SS to fill up. But remember, only ~30k are undergrads. Graduate students may not give a rip about sports, or may be fans of their undergrad alma mater. Or they may legitimately not have time.

On the STH/GA side, we have a metro area of 3+ million. Yes, many residents also went to other (competing) schools, and we have the unfortunate burden of lower-level schools like UMN/SCSU/Mankato/etc who hate the Gophers because hockey whereas other D-1 football programs across the country feel this tension less. But still, 3M : 42k is a much larger ratio than 50k:8k. Much, much, much larger. I just don't think the issue is only students, but societal.

 

[SuperSenior13]

I interned in the athletic dept during my time as a student, and I can tell you that, while they do care about increasing student attendance, the constant in all discussions on the topic was first and foremost about money. I actually pitched the subsidized, "free" sporting event tickets to the department and got ripped apart.

The idea was to have a small, extra fee added to the student activities fee (can't remember if that's the name but it was basically an admin fee that encompassed facilities etc. added to each students' tuition), and spread out over all 50,000+ students.I argued they would be able to not only make their money that would have been generated thru ticket sales, but using their per-cap concessions and merchandise numbers from the previous season, greatly increase overall revenue by (theoretically) having more butts in the seats.

I thought it was a great idea, but it was all in theory that they would all come if it were "free" or "I'm paying for it so I might as well go", similar to the new recreation center. I don't think a Power 5 school would ever do this due to the devaluing of their product and public perception.

In summary, I know nothing about anything.

 

[TrapperDoo]

Look at the pic in the article. The girl is playing her god-damn cell phone! You know she's not trying to find a good Chinese restaurant in the area or the solution to a differential equation. She's checking her Facebook page or her texts or what ever - but her mind no doubt is centered immediately on herself and how she controls this. Technology and modern society have delivered this to her and she now has the luxury of being able to dedicate all of her social energy to herself without the need for anything external (that she can't control) to help satisfy her social needs. She doesn't need the football team to anchor for her social orbit, to amplify for her social energy, or to commune with other humans. All she needs right there in the palm of her hand. Too bad. She missed the game.

 

[popeyoung5]

BTN last nite stated Michigan had a 40% decline in student ticket sales this year.It's more than just winning imo. So ONLY 20% of undergrads pay and show up yet it's ok that only 1% of the TC population(let alone the state) shows up?

 

[howeda7]

Look at the pic in the article. The girl is playing her god-damn cell phone! You know she's not trying to find a good Chinese restaurant in the area or the solution to a differential equation. She's checking her Facebook page or her texts or what ever - but her mind no doubt is centered immediately on herself and how she controls this. Technology and modern society have delivered this to her and she now has the luxury of being able to dedicate all of her social energy to herself without the need for anything external (that she can't control) to help satisfy her social needs. She doesn't need the football team to anchor for her social orbit, to amplify for her social energy, or to commune with other humans. All she needs right there in the palm of her hand. Too bad. She missed the game.

She upset you so much you had to post it twice? She best keep off your lawn.

 

[alexvanabbema]

As a sophomore student at the U, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that most students here just aren't interested in football or going to the games. Hardly any of my friends buy season tickets, and those who do usually just decide not to go to most of the games or sell their tickets, because they'd rather be sleeping, doing homework or hanging out. At the game most of the students don't seem to be engaged much from what I've seen, and they seem to view the game as mostly a place to socialize and get drunk at. I doubt that most of them have any idea who the Gophers played the week before, or how the team is even doing. Granted, I have met quite a few students who are die hard fans, and who know a lot about the team, but sadly, these fans seem to be in the minority.

 

[BBQ Platypus]

The issue is HD television coverage. This is the source of it nationwide, even in the SEC. You can get a better view for free, from your own comfy couch, as opposed to paying to sit on a student section bench. Hell, you can even multitask, and the underclassmen can even drink some of the booze they're not buying. More significantly, try as they might, there's just no way to make a television commercial break compelling on the field. We see more and more of them, and it takes you right out of it, with no escape from the tedious downtime.

(The threat of the other football looms high over American shores).

 

[Rodney's Open]

So many of them are spoiled brats who don't care about anything but fuching.

I don't know what's more sad. Them only caring about that or you posting on an internet message board about how much you care about what they care about.