Cards have won three straight so they are starting to do their part. Weather forecast for Saturday is perfect. Is that enough to get some more folks back into the stadium? I sure hope so.
Does Winning Cure Attendance Issues?
- Thread starter Knucklehank1
- Start date
I think the answer is no. The argument could be made that’s it’s an FCS opponent but the reality is that Satterfield lost a big portion of the non- diehards with the USCjr move and then , all of the mediocrity. He (they) will need to do something special to get them back.
Winning is always a good thing. But UofL attendance is 1) primarily based on tailgating, which is not the strong point that it used to be, and 2) always tapers off towards the later part of the season even with good records against good teams. Just truisms.
There are ways to make it better but the administration consistently misses the forest for the trees. I could go into more detail but the administration ignores the simple things that long-time fans like me know as obvious solutions.
There are ways to make it better but the administration consistently misses the forest for the trees. I could go into more detail but the administration ignores the simple things that long-time fans like me know as obvious solutions.
They definitely f’d up tailgating. Would be interested to hear the other things you are referencing?
consistently winning, and thus fans feel confident, will put people back in the seats. just too much history to be fully on board yet
I agree consistent winning will do it. I go to all the home games but really haven’t felt like they were going to actually win. A couple things have to happen.
Recruiting at a high level leads to being ranked early. They start recruiting players that get people excited will help.
Winning at home. Winning in ways like they did the last 2 weeks. If you went those both had good atmospheres. A full and juiced stadium is going to be a problem for opposing teams. Then if they win games in front of that kind of crowd attendance starts ticking up.
The playoff structure is going to help. You may not be eliminated as fast as in previous years.
I am not sure they will ever sell out consistently but 50,000 should be doable.
Feels like a lot of variables are impacting attendance. The team has performed well enough to warrant a good crowd for Saturday they are on a streak and they just destroyed a ranked team.
Hank what is attendance looking like across the country this year?
Hank what is attendance looking like across the country this year?
No, winning doesn’t seem to do it in Louisville. I used to go to the games as far back as old Cardinal Stadium at the Fairgrounds. Can’t go anymore due to age issues. But, our fans just don’t seem to get into it. They are late to their seats when they do go and, regardless of score, many are on their way out in the third quarter. Since UL sports is the biggest show in town you would think we’d pack the place but we just don’t. Wish I had the answer but I do not. I do think we over built the stadium. Too many bad seats. Would prefer a much smaller stadium with seats filled
He definitely hasn’t connected with a good portion of the fanbase.
Can’t find great overall numbers. Last year overall college football attendance dropped for the 7th straight year and lowest marks since 1981. Anecdotally I’ve seen some games at PAC12 and ACC stadiums that have been ridiculously bad.
First, the kids in charge have to understand that a UofL game in NOT like a concert or other ticketed event where digital tickets may make more sense. UofL game attendance is based in large part on tailgating and paper tickets are easily transferable whereas digital tickets are not. So you can't just invite a large number of people to the tailgate with the expectation that you can get them a ticket and put their butts in the seats. Nothing against digital tickets; they should definitely be an option for those who chose to use them. They simply shouldn't be the default requirement. Send people who want paper tickets their dang tickets without forcing a special request and special trip ahead of the season to get them. There is no reason to make this complicated. The lack of paper tickets is directly proportionate to decreased attendance. (Repeat that last sentence to fully comprehend its truth -- the administration seems oblivious to it). Even strangers with extra tickets find it difficult to sell cheap or give away when approaching the stadium and end up eating them, which means they go unused and remain empty seats.
For example, I know several long-time season ticket holders who gave up their tickets due to this single issue. Yell "boomer" all you want but those ardent fans are now gone; they just watch at home on TV. And as one of the people who organized large tailgates, we we able to invite large numbers of people for the party and then put tickets in their hands to get them into the stadium where they had a great time and cheered on the team. We do not do that anymore; it's no longer practical or feasible. And my cohorts who still do tailgates now have very limited attendance, especially when compared to pre-digital tickets. The fiasco of forced digital tickets cannot be overstated. It is issue number 1 when addressing attendance issues. Small tailgates equal smaller attendance. A simple yet ignored concept.
Now we can talk about tailgating itself. The number of empty spaces in the Bronze lot is almost inexplicable. So let's talk about the purple/green lot (and please stop changing the colors every time we get new sponsors). And stop pretending that CAF points mean anything to the average fan who has been attending every game for decades -- those are the fans we want at the games but they are not rewarded or accommodated in any significant way. Assigned spots have their purpose but prevent groups from getting together to tailgate. (See my above comments regarding how tailgating issues negatively affect attendance). But there is a common ground that was completely overlooked when UofL tried to swing the pendulum back to tailgating but made first come, first served a bit of a cluster ****. My personal suggestion -- which I have offered to the administration for a few decades -- is to give the donors who rarely attend assigned spots on the left side of the green lot. They can show up late and pull right in or not at all as usual; they'll be happy either way. Then make the right side of the green lot a first come, first served -- but leave some flexibility for friends to join up who may have missed the convoy to drive in together. And you do this by simply letting them pick their area! Don't force them into a dictated assignment on the spot that changes every game. There are MANY who would give up places closer to the tunnel to have some continuity further back in WHERE they set up each game so that they can easily be found every time. (For example, we had a long-time tailgate party at a particular lamppost in green lot section B that everyone knew where to congregate and grab their tickets before the game -- we can't do that anymore). In short, UofL overcomplicated something that is very important to many fans and negatively impacted attendance. Whatever changes they implement again, whether similar to my ideas or not, just make it fan friendly. It currently is not.
There are other ideas to better the fan experience but I'll stop now b/c I'm not the Unibomber. I have business and event experience and am confident that I could immediately increase game attendance 5000-10,000 per game if given the authority to make simple changes.
And in case any of this comes across as negative (it is intended to be constructive, not destructive), let me just say GO CARDS!
I agree on the tailgating no one likes the current set up. They need to revisit.
I like seeing your perspective. I always felt that the solution on the Purple lot was to give people the choice. You can get first come-first serve in A lot or you can select reserved spots in B and C with your tailgating friends. Sounds like you have a slightly different approach but largely the same premise. Screwing up longtime tailgating groups was a HUGE mistake (are you listening Josh Heird!!).
I hadn’t considered the ticketing issues but in that regard I do remember several years ago bringing my kids without tickets and knowing that I’d find a couple tix at good prices so they could get in the games. I wouldn’t do that now.
It’s time for the UofL administration to take a deep dive into these things and actually engage with your longtime fan. And yes, CAF points should matter.
Hello Josh Heird….please understand that most fans hate the parking situation in the Purple Lot. You can fix this.
A poster above mentioned attendance in college football dropping for the last 7 years. Every game is on TV now and in the not-to-distant past, that was not the case. I also think Covid changed a lot about how people go about their life. And technology too. You can watch the game on your phone while you are out doing other things.
So to get people in the seats you have to give them a reason to be excited about spending the money and time to be there. And consistent winning is the only thing that is going to do that.
So to get people in the seats you have to give them a reason to be excited about spending the money and time to be there. And consistent winning is the only thing that is going to do that.
Someone who knows please confirm this thought...to me it looked like WF had very few fans attend this game. Pretty weak away following for them IMO. Especially for a then one loss team with aspirations of moving up higher than the #10 ranking they held at the time. Go figure! 
Our fans gave WF the Rodney Dangerfield lack of respect award with a lot of no shows for them. Just no respect I tell ya....no respect. Indeed!
Our fans gave WF the Rodney Dangerfield lack of respect award with a lot of no shows for them. Just no respect I tell ya....no respect. Indeed!
Last edited:
Yeah they prob had abt 150 fans. In their designated section. Plus maybe another 100 sprinkled throughout. You could tell by the White they were wearing.Someone who knows please confirm this thought...to me it looked like WF had very few fans attend this game. Pretty weak away following for them IMO. Especially for a then one loss team with aspirations of moving up higher than the #10 ranking they held at the time. Go figure!
Considering G-mans reply to my question...does this mean that FSU, not USF, and Pitt have a better fan following than WF? Would it be as much as a few thousand or hundreds? Does anyone have access to visiting team tickets sold? Would be interesting to know the numbers here IMO.
I don't have any special access, but I don't think any ACC team brings more than 750 or so fans to Cards FB games. Kentucky and WKU and even EKU may bring more
I think Wake, Duke and BC have the least supporting FB fans who will travel.
The ACC has just too many small and private schools
The ACC has just too many small and private schools
Miami doesn't have many traveling fans. Mainly tee shirt fans who just show up.
I don’t know the visitors numbers, but FSU was 2-0 and coming off that big win against LSU, so it stands to reason that they brought 5k fans or so….
Yes, your idea was also floated as a possible improvement for parking/tailgating. You are definitely on the right page I believe that the prevailing thought for change was to get more people around the area for Card March, which was always full of empty spaces in the A lot and a bit embarrassing. (Full disclosure: my three parking passes were in the A lot, and always occupied, but in different spots -- i.e., not together). That's why I suggested the option to split the green lot in half -- assigned spots on the left (where it is easier to drive in late and park without going through the crowd of tailgaters) -- and a version of first come, first served on the right side. It could easily be done for both sections A and B. That would please both the donors who want their assigned parking spot (whether they use it or not) and get a nice tailgating crowd for the early arrivers to make a better game atmosphere. But mine was only a suggestion; it is certainly not the only idea to help make things better and more fan friendly. The only thing necessary to make this work is to simply give people the option to select a designated spot or a first, come first served pass. Nothing would be forced on anyone.
Clemson by far has the most traveling fans. UofL travels well. I thought Pitt had a nice contingent.
Very good points and well stated. Have you thought abut applying for the long vacant President position? I am not kidding either.
At the very least, it would be awesome if you were on the BOT in some capacity. What you said just makes too much common sense. Wish the administration would hire you as a consultant...your ideas are stellar. Your post was choc full of good suggestions and refreshing to read vice the casual vitriol of the normal posts we are seeing on this board. Very nice job!
Similar threads
