Attendance For UNT LA Tech: 16,590

[TIgreen01]

Student attendance is sad this year.  It reminds me of the late 1990s where you could almost literally count them from across the stadium.  What happened this year?

[Glory to the Green]

30 minutes ago, KingDL1 said:

I believe you are correct; tailgating is always better, and attendance does seems to be better in the evening. I know many alumni who have kiddo activities on Saturdays. Late games they will make but early games they will skip. Students in the sun on a hot day cant help either. Games should not start before 5 until mid November.  

All of this. My wife and older kids wanted to attend, but they had school commitments. An evening game would have allowed for all of us to attend. 

I think the game day experience could improve.  Kiss cam, dance cam, bit  more build up to the current breaks (dice, FG, tshirt cannon etc), those dot relay races, finish the song trivia for the whole stadium, etc. There’s just so much downtime…maybe some of the break build up will bleed into fan energy during the actual game play. There were many moments where I was the only fan standing and cheering in my section.  It’s just not fun for the casual fan. 

Edited October 16, 2022 by Glory to the Green
Clarification

[UNT 90 Grad]

2 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

TCU is ranked and were playing another ranked team for first place. At a place that is expected to win or they will fire you…they fired the guy with a statue in front of their stadium because he was slipping.

We have nothing like that. Our coach looks out everyday at the practice fields named after a coach who got eventually got fired with a 42-64 record. Our students are basically told that football isn’t important here. And they’ve been told that for decades. 

If I recall correctly, you can thank Matress Mack for that.  Dickey didn’t even want them named after himself.  (Wanted them to be named posthumously after former UNT QB Andrew Smith.)

[Mrs. Esterhouse]

I work on campus and I haven't seen any game promotions in years. What are we doing to actually market the games to the students? Faculty and staff? I don't see anything. If I didn't have season tickets and an already established interest in UNT Athletics, I would have no idea there was a game yesterday. 

The same goes for promotions and marketing to the city of Denton, I don't see anything. The average Denton resident should know when there's a home football game if the Athletic Department was doing anything to actually market the team or to establish any goodwill around the city. 

[El Paso Eagle]

1 minute ago, Mrs. Esterhouse said:

I work on campus and I haven't seen any game promotions in years. What are we doing to actually market the games to the students? Faculty and staff? I don't see anything. If I didn't have season tickets and an already established interest in UNT Athletics, I would have no idea there was a game yesterday. 

The same goes for promotions and marketing to the city of Denton, I don't see anything. The average Denton resident should know when there's a home football game if the Athletic Department was doing anything to actually market the team or to establish any goodwill around the city. 

For all the nice things that Wren has done he has equally fallen short on the game day experience. This is 100% on his Department

[untjim1995]

4 hours ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

Students aren’t told anything like that. Especially, over the past decade. Even though you refuse to admit it, today’s UNT is very different than what it’s been in the past. 

Sure looked like it yesterday…

[rws69]

1. From my seats I can see much of the hill where tailgating takes place. I did NOT see students hanging out there during the game as I usually do. 

2. Low 90's on October 15 is NOT normal, but students should be able to handle that. I assumed that many took advantage of a weekend without TX-OU to go to the fair.

3. On field promos, contests, and recognitions are overdone and boring. 

4. My wife usually makes one game a year. My sister joins me at Homecoming, and various female friends sometimes join me at other games. A "kiss cam" might be fun, but please don's aim it at me!

5. We moved to Tyler in early 2020, but I still come to the games. If I can do that ....

6. FAU drew more because it was family weekend.

7. Many Club ticket holders stayed inside to watch the OSU-TCU game.

[Matt from A700]

My buddy and I still sit behind the student section because we're still young and able to stand/yell all game. It is pathetic now. Forget how few people were there. We all complain that the students don't know to be loud on defense, but we emphatically did the "U-N-T" during the fight song and got crazy stares.

I don't know if the ticketing process has changed again lately. When I graduated, they had just switched to the digital system and you had to create an account on UNT Tickets to get your student entry. I don't know why they would have made it more difficult. I'll reiterate they need to get back to simpler system -- scan your ID and you're in, get the ticket trailer back on campus, etc. Buying a little extra ticket stock would be a good investment in my opinion - screw the environment, for once.

[gordo nation]

I am a student at UNT. I got tickets extremely easily, it took me about 2 minutes. 

I think some major aspects for low attendance have to do with three major factors

1) The stadium is located across a highway in an area that's unwalkable and distant from nearby restaurants or postgame activities

2) UNT's ugly label as "a commuter school." Tons of students go home for the weekend and it's not really seen as a traditional college in the eyes of the student body.

3) Denton local businesses just don't seem to promote or value the athletics at UNT. 

[southsideguy]

I agree the 3pm start is not good.

[Snowy]

If the game isn't on network television, the kickoff should be in the evening. Period. If we're not getting national television exposure, the focus should be making the in-person fan experience as good as possible. Seeing that ESPN 3/+ can broadcast as many games at a time, I don't see why this isn't possible.

92 degrees, facing the sun, and standing on top of metal bleachers will turn a lot of people away. There were pretty decent student turnouts for SMU and TX Southern. If the weather is <80F for the next few home games student attendance should be okay.

[untjim1995]

6 hours ago, gordo nation said:

I am a student at UNT. I got tickets extremely easily, it took me about 2 minutes. 

I think some major aspects for low attendance have to do with three major factors

1) The stadium is located across a highway in an area that's unwalkable and distant from nearby restaurants or postgame activities

2) UNT's ugly label as "a commuter school." Tons of students go home for the weekend and it's not really seen as a traditional college in the eyes of the student body.

3) Denton local businesses just don't seem to promote or value the athletics at UNT. 

I’ve been told by many that Denton and UNT are completely different these days from the past that encompassed so many of the exact same issues that have plagued us for decades…it’s almost as if some people just want to wish things were different than they really are. 

[NT93]

Seems like a shuttle to and from campus could be doable for students.  

[untbowler]

8 hours ago, NT93 said:

Seems like a shuttle to and from campus could be doable for students.  

seriously, it is an easy walk even from the Union Area for students. I remember doing that walk last year while daughter did campus visit, took 10-15 min. Not hard at all. UNT just has to many excuses for failing to fully support athletics

[Cougar King]

I thought our attendance was horrific this year but good lord. 16k wouldnt even be Top 5 in FCS attendance 

[Matt from A700]

Yeah, the walk across the highway is a lame excuse. Continental drift has not made the walk any further over 10 years. I get today's world is all about convenience, but it is just six weekends a year, and on the same day of the week. The game ends early enough to get back to your dorm/apartment, shower, and go out. Going to the football game should be the thing to do if you're in college. There's 10,000 on-campus students, plus however many on Greek row and the ever-increasing number of apartments within walking distance. There should be a lot more people on the east side.

[Old Denton]

12 hours ago, Snowy said:

If the game isn't on network television, the kickoff should be in the evening. Period. If we're not getting national television exposure, the focus should be making the in-person fan experience as good as possible. Seeing that ESPN 3/+ can broadcast as many games at a time, I don't see why this isn't possible.

92 degrees, facing the sun, and standing on top of metal bleachers will turn a lot of people away. There were pretty decent student turnouts for SMU and TX Southern. If the weather is <80F for the next few home games student attendance should be okay.

This.  There is no reason to adhere to kickoff windows for streaming-only.  Actual TV broadcasts, such as FS1, CBSSN, ESPN/2, even Stadium, sure, we all know they call the shot on kickoff time.  But ANY game not picked up for broadcast should kickoff no earlier than 6:00 during Daylight Saving time, or 4:00 in November.  That will help us get in a full day of tailgating, and allow the families that have kid football or soccer during the day to get to the game afterward.

[UNTLifer]

29 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

 I get today's world is all about convenience, but it is just six weekends a year, and on the same day of the week. 

But what if that is the only six days of the year they actually get up and walk?  I mean, I know they get a full week, sometimes two, for recovery, but it can be tough for those so inclined to sit on their back ends too much.  You know, there are "Couch to 5K" training programs to prepare people for their first race, so maybe a "Couch to Apogee" program could work.  Start about six weeks prior to opening day, and work up to the hike.  Just a thought.

Oh, and loved the Continental Drift comment.

Edited October 17, 2022 by UNTLifer

[Salsa_Verde]

22 hours ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

Students aren’t told anything like that. Especially, over the past decade. Even though you refuse to admit it, today’s UNT is very different than what it’s been in the past. 

Not directly or by anyone that I know of. I think it’s more on the actions of the AD based on the product on the field. Students want to brag about beating schools their friends go to…we don’t have that plain and simple. 

[Salsa_Verde]

20 hours ago, Mrs. Esterhouse said:

I work on campus and I haven't seen any game promotions in years. What are we doing to actually market the games to the students? Faculty and staff? I don't see anything. If I didn't have season tickets and an already established interest in UNT Athletics, I would have no idea there was a game yesterday. 

The same goes for promotions and marketing to the city of Denton, I don't see anything. The average Denton resident should know when there's a home football game if the Athletic Department was doing anything to actually market the team or to establish any goodwill around the city. 

I agree in large part. I also think that it’s tough to market a poor product, when MF was here you had something to sell and they did at least try (When MF was here) but then the team would fall short and people would start to blast the program on why aren’t we winning. It’s almost as if they don’t want the heat that would come with increased fan support. 

[keith]

22 hours ago, Snowy said:

92 degrees, facing the sun, and standing on top of metal bleachers will turn a lot of people away. There were pretty decent student turnouts for SMU and TX Southern. If the weather is <80F for the next few home games student attendance should be okay.

The band seems to be able to survive these conditions and they aren't wearing shorts and t-shirts.  Soon it will be too cold or too rainy.  The student side for the last two games has looked pitiful.  We've always seemed to have our ups and downs with attendance, but man it looked like there wasn't more than a few hundred students in the stands Saturday.  

Open question for Mr. Baker or anyone in the AD...you have the data, how many students claimed tickets for the game and how many actually made it through the turnstiles?  You need to find out why the students aren't attending and do whatever is in your power to fix it.  Forget all the survey crap.  You know what makes a great game day experience?  A full, vibrant and loud student section.  None of the other stuff matters if half the stadium is empty.  

Edited October 18, 2022 by keith

[Matt from A700]

Between legalities, vendor contracts, liability issues, etc. etc. I doubt there's any way to do it... but the Greek tailgates need to be in the stadium to have any chance of getting them all to watch the game. They are obnoxious but truth be told the AD needs to work with them to get all their peeps in the stands once the game actually starts.

[Pavlovs Eagle]

On 10/16/2022 at 1:29 PM, Mrs. Esterhouse said:

I don't see anything.

You can't expect the athletic department to have a marketing budget when their G&A salary expense has to grown to support all the new Director and VP salary expense they've added recently.

[PlummMeanGreen]

MORE RABBIT CHASING BUT STILL NOT CATCHING…

We do tend to beat ourselves up on our attendance, don’t we? Of course, some of us have been doing that for half a century & more. You begin to wonder—why does this persist?  Denton County will hit 1,000,000 in population very soon so let’s try not to act like we’re in some foreign “hard to get to” outpost.

Almost 8 million Greater DFW citizens live within an hour of Apogee Stadium . It’s a mountainous gold mine of people, but who will put the first pick in the ground to mine for new fans?  We seem stuck with old familiar faces. 
Putting a string of several above .500 seasons & throw in a bowl win or 2 would help.  The most I’ve seen up there is 4 above .500 seasons in a row. That would be 1975, 1976, 1977 & 1978.  Only 4! Hard to believe, isn’t it? 

  College football fans have to have reasons to think their football program is trending upward. They have to think once their coaches get a job at UNT that they’ve unpacked all their suitcases, get to work & actually want to stay awhile.  
All our bowl losses & that infernal SMU game blowout loss several weeks ago took the air out early in our balloon in our 2022 football season. It all but demoralized our fan base—it broke our spirit. 

Easy to see the UNT student body is onto this, too. 44,000 plus Fall 2022 UNT students are (in all actuality) the equivalent of 44,000+ sold season tickets, but there has to be a quality entertainment value for those tickets to be utilized.
UNT student attendance has been our inspiration in past years, but that has slacked off lately. They will return under the right circumstances. At UNT, it just seems all the planets have to be aligned.☹️
Yes, I do agree that mid afternoon kickoffs are part of the problem.  Any of you ever sit in the sun at Apogee’s east side at those 3 o’clock kickoffs?  

DFW is a winners town—a winners sports market.  You have to win & you have to beat a known ranked school to prove to your fans that your football program is projecting upward.  That’s SL’s main problem now, but you have to also schedule more notable schools to increase the chances for high profile wins. UTSA is doing all the right things now.  If Traylor can sustain football success down in ol’ San Antone’ then UNT will not only have SMU to contend with in the American, but UTSA as well.  Would we have it any other way?
Lets not be competitive in only another weak football conference. We’ve sung that hymn one too many times.    
GMG!
 

Winning football fills stadiums…

 

Cheerleaders from my student days at NTSU.  Cutter Bill’s & Denton rancher (& other things) Rex Cauble donated this car to UNT Athletics. 
 

I appreciate its place in our history, but I do not miss this stadium which opened in 1951.

Edited October 22, 2022 by PlummMeanGreen

[southsideguy]

what year was the picture with the students on the car?