Friday, September 27, 2013

College Football: Declining Student Attendance Hits Georgia

Pretty good article in today's <i>Wall Street Journal</i> about falling student attendance at SEC football games.

Http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304795804579097223907738780.html

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even though Im not a student. I would rather watch any football on a nice big screen TV. To me going to any event is becoming a hassle with all the crazy security they have everywhere now. To me its just not fun anymore.

Anonymous said...

It's just too damned expensive for anyone who doesn't have a shitload of daddy's money to burn. They ought to redistribute these tickets to young alumni or alumni in general. They have jobs and can afford the parking, the food and the whole experience of being there. College kids would rather be where they can drink and check their cell phones.

Anonymous said...

To me, there's nothing like being there and I wish the students felt the same way. We've been on a waiting list for season tickets for seven seasons now, and have had to scrounge around for tickets whenever we go. In light of this, it's particularly frustrating to look up and see empty seats in the student section.

Anonymous said...

I love the experience of attending a college football game, but as I get older it often seems like too big of a hassle. Parking is a nightmare, I hate standing in lines and everything is much too expensive.
It's also easy to see why no one enjoys attending the nonconference games against overmatched opponents, unless of course you are a Mississippi State fan and Alcorn and Troy are the only likely victories on the schedule.

Kingfish said...

All schools have different policies BUT it used to be at LSU, a student could walk up to the gate, show ID, and walk in. Perhaps that is the best model. Can't sell those spots on Ebay.

The students come first. Period. This is college football. All about the school and the students. They've made it alot tougher for students.

1. Scheduling creampuffs. You get four SEC games at home. Too often the schools schedule rent a wins so we get to see Big Bad State U beating up on Southwest Dallas State. Boring as hell. No one cares, and guess what? They don't show.

2. Prices. Many now charge students for tickets. Prices add up. Not every student has daddy's credit card.

3. More prices. LSU last year abolished free parking on campus. $40 per car. Not every student lives in a dorm. Just made it tougher for students to come on campus, tailgate, etc. Student spends $50 or more on tickets. Then has to pay to come on campus. $100 is alot of money to alot of twenty year olds.

Thus it is too much hassle when the students can simply go to a bar, drink and watch game on HDTV instead of enjoying game day. Simple truth is adminstrators, AD"s, and boosters have made game day cost too much and surprise, those with the least money are not attending.

Kingfish said...

What is also driving this is stubhub. Students would get paper tickets and if they didn't go, give them or sell them to their fellow students.

UGA partners with Stubhub. Paper tickets stop. Coincidence the attendance dropped?

Anonymous said...

20+ years ago it was $35 for a season of student tickets at MSU. Can't imagine what it must be like now.

No day makes a regular college student at an SEC school feel LESS important than home game day. Kids get kicked out of their parking lots (Bama makes the residents at Tutwiler move so RVs can park close to the stadium). They usually get some of the worst seats, AND the student section gets split up all over the place so the kids don't get too rowdy.

Heaven help you if you get caught with the demon alcohol -- which, of course, happens only after you get felt up by the campus police officer who drew the short straw and is checking student bodies for flasks or bourbon-filled water bras.

Anonymous said...

8:01 you need to get your facts straight. You're right about the parking, but the students are either in the lower bowl or a section of the new upper deck. Definitely not scattered all over the stadium. Most of those seats are better than some alums have. I don't think the alcohol policy is any different than any other SEC school and nobody is patted down without cause, if caught they are turned away. For that matter, it's no different anywhere in the stadium.

Anonymous said...

I got a 55 inch screen at home. My seat is comfortable. Restroom is 18 steps away. I get replay and commentary. I can pause or rewind the game. I have excellent parking.

Anonymous said...

I'm happy for the students who take a pass on football. Its pure business and to them its hype. University presidents want to get the student athletes to take stipends and sign waivers for head injuries. Simply put its what alumni want not students.

Anonymous said...

Question: Who and why has someone been on a season ticket waiting list for seven years. If you join the athletic foundation and pay dues you should not wait nearly that long.

Question: I keep hearing about student drinking. What percentage of students do you think are of legal drinking age, 21? I think it's a fact that football's interest no longer is the driving force behind more than 20% of the student population. The rest have other interests

Observation: I can remember when very few girls would go to a game without a date. Now we see hundreds and hundreds of girls going in alone or in groups or just with a girl buddy.

Opinion: Football stadiums are just one more place on campus saturated with rules, rules, rules and lines, lines, lines. Kids want the weekend time for themselves without the hassle of adult rules and more control from the university. Do this, do that, sit here, cheer now, don't ring, ring, no sticks, no chants, sit butt cheek to butt cheek crammed in to a giant sweaty sardine can. The excitement of game day may be the same for some of us as it was forty years ago. Apparently the attraction is not there for a lot of folks.

Anonymous said...

I attended the University of Virginia during the 1980's. Students only had to show a student ID to get in. There were no tickets for students. Also, there were no reserved seats in the student section.
That meant the fraternities would send pledges to the stadium hours ahead to save large sections of seats. The only seats left for everyone else were between the 10 yard line and the back of the end zone (or during those days you could sit on the hill behind the north end zone). Also, when U.Va. got good in 1984 and 1985, there weren't enough seats for the students. All in all, the ID system did not work very well.


Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.