Student Attendance Issues

[TexanMark]

No secret SU is having an issue.

Author raises some good points... further compounded at SU by student demographic trends

Why are students shunning college football games? They're distracted and too poor for marketers to bother with

 

[upperdeck]

age of video games, everything needs to be free, cheaper drinks, cord cutters. It all adds up.. the things that add up.

pace of play and ads. interesting in a day where we see 30-40% more play in a game,and more pts we also complain about watching for 15-20 min more. so in essence complaining about a better deal?

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

Television has made the games take entirely too long. Additionally, when you're a school in an area that has so few great weather weekends, it's really hard to justify coming inside to watch our football team lately. The student attendance issues will go away if we crack the top 25 and continue to play an entertaining style of football.

 

[reedny]

It's not just FB games, there's a broader social issue here. I don't think it's hijacking the thread to point out that many college kids are more interested in snap-chatting/tweeting about a FB game than actually attending it. Cost is not the real issue. Kids who buy beer and pay $50k+ to attend SU are not too poor to pay $10-$15 for a ticket. Most of them are just looking for an excuse to binge drink and stare at their cellphones. And it's not just football games they're missing. Device-dependency is breeding apathy across the board, degrading social interactions, promoting obesity and providing a convenient platform for bullies and online predators. Millennials think it's a "choice", but they're actually getting played -- having their faces stuck to a screen all day is very profitable for social media. As a parent, my job is to raise my kids to be as healthy, respectful and engaged as possible, and from everything I've seen about smart phones/FB and the like, it's a rut I don't want my kids to fall into.

 

[Hoo's That]

Television has made the games take entirely too long. {snip}

This problem goes way, way back. Back in the day when the one Raycom game was just about the only ACC football game broadcast each weekend, the televised noon game and an untelevised 1:30 game would both end around 3:30, in time for the ABC national game. Now, it seems like there are noon games that delay the broadcast of the 3:30 games.

 

[upperdeck]

Television has made the games take entirely too long. Additionally, when you're a school in an area that has so few great weather weekends, it's really hard to justify coming inside to watch our football team lately. The student attendance issues will go away if we crack the top 25 and continue to play an entertaining style of football.

ok.. but are the kids outside?

games in the 70s took 2:30-3:00, most games today take 3:00-3:30.. so 30 min of a day is such a big deal?

 

[leftytg]

this isn't just a Syracuse problem - student attendance is down at many/most, even in football crazy places. I live in Austin, and student attendance at UT has been an ongoing concern. Coach Herman even called out the students after they didn't show for a match up against a top 10 Oklahoma State. I remember reading an article a few years ago saying student attendance was down at places like Georgia and Florida. I think if your school is making a run for the playoff, this kind of thing isn't an issue, but for seemingly most everyone else getting students to come to games is an issue.

 

[Hoo's That]

this isn't just a Syracuse problem - student attendance is down at many/most, even in football crazy places. I live in Austin, and student attendance at UT has been an ongoing concern. Coach Herman even called out the students after they didn't show for a match up against a top 10 Oklahoma State. I remember reading an article a few years ago saying student attendance was down at places like Georgia and Florida. I think if your school is making a run for the playoff, this kind of thing isn't an issue, but for seemingly most everyone else getting students to come to games is an issue.

This is a constant complaint on every board I visit. Some people on UNC-CHeat's "The Tar Pit" even believe they're putting the chair backs into Kenan Stadium, intentionally reducing capacity, to make the stadium look not as empty.

 

[NJCuse97]

I think the youth has an inherent intolerance for the game and its players. I think historically the football team has been a prime source for the bullies and over celebrated in their high schools and now that the game also has a more "exposed" brutality and injurious side effect, the more academic focused students just don't want to take part, especially when there is a potential jealousy of full scholarships while these same students rack up huge debt in loans. It will likely get worse as SU turns more to a research and grant driven STEM university. For the record, none of this was my experience or action, just a vibe I get from today's kids.

 

[NJCuse97]

Also there are a lot more international students who did not grow up with an interest in football let alone college football.

 

[CuseLegacy]

I think the youth has an inherent intolerance for the game and its players. I think historically the football team has been a prime source for the bullies and over celebrated in their high schools and now that the game also has a more "exposed" brutality and injurious side effect, the more academic focused students just don't want to take part, especially when there is a potential jealousy of full scholarships while these same students rack up huge debt in loans. It will likely get worse as SU turns more to a research and grant driven STEM university. For the record, none of this was my experience or action, just a vibe I get from today's kids.

I've said before but it is easier to identify with players on a team such as Basketball or Soccer when their faces aren't hidden behind helmets and there aren't over 85 members on a team. There is a loss of a personal connection to the football team.

 

[All4SU]

Also there are a lot more international students who did not grow up with an interest in football let alone college football.

That’s my take as well.

 

[Cheriehoop]

ok.. but are the kids outside?

games in the 70s took 2:30-3:00, most games today take 3:00-3:30.. so 30 min of a day is such a big deal?

Yes, when the actual live action is only an hour and you spend over 3 and a half hours to watch it. Weekends are the only time most students, working people have in discretionary time and watching paint dry for hours to see an hour game isn’t fun for many people. Remember the majority of these students can’t drink during the game either.

I of course go to the games but I can understand what a pain it is to take up an entire afternoon of a 2 afternoon weekend when you are young, have families, other activities, obligations. I spoke to a couple of students in a huge group of them leaving the dome at halftime when we could go outside and asked them about leaving early. They said they were hungry and couldn’t afford dome food and had to get to the dining halls before they closed at 3.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

Many young people of today are frugal. Attending a sporting event is very expensive especially if God forbid you want food or drink. I can sit at home and stream any game I want online for free in HD with my friends with a $15 30 rack of beer and a $15 large pizza that we all split the payment on. We can play our own music in the background. No one is telling us to sit down or to quiet down (though not a problem in the student section). The tedium of commercial breaks, timeouts, and halftime is mitigated by being able to do other things. If the game is a blowout or otherwise poor product we don't have to feel obligated to continue watching.

Young people today are still very interested in sports, but the prices have to come down and the breaks need to be shorter.

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

ok.. but are the kids outside?

games in the 70s took 2:30-3:00, most games today take 3:00-3:30.. so 30 min of a day is such a big deal?

Absolutely. Anytime we could we'd go play pickup basketball, softball, soccer, or just day drink on someone's porch/backyard. If it's 65-75 and sunny it becomes even harder to get the casual student fan to go to the Dome.

 

[OrangePA]

No secret SU is having an issue.

Author raises some good points... further compounded at SU by student demographic trends

Why are students shunning college football games? They're distracted and too poor for marketers to bother with

Just win baby!

There will be no problem filling the Dome.

 

[OrangePA]

I've said before but it is easier to identify with players on a team such as Basketball or Soccer when their faces aren't hidden behind helmets and there aren't over 85 members on a team. There is a loss of a personal connection to the football team.

And of course the ever changing uniforms - you can't identify your own team!

 

[dollarbill44]

Yes, when the actual live action is only an hour and you spend over 3 and a half hours to watch it. Weekends are the only time most students, working people have in discretionary time and watching paint dry for hours to see an hour game isn’t fun for many people. Remember the majority of these students can’t drink during the game either.

I of course go to the games but I can understand what a pain it is to take up an entire afternoon of a 2 afternoon weekend when you are young, have families, other activities, obligations. I spoke to a couple of students in a huge group of them leaving the dome at halftime when we could go outside and asked them about leaving early. They said they were hungry and couldn’t afford dome food and had to get to the dining halls before they closed at 3.

I agree with everything but the part about students not having discretionary time during the week. Most students have a lot of free time during the week as well.

 

[Scooch]

Sports is a bit less popular among this generation than among Millennials and Gen X. Not exactly shocking attendance is lower. They also attend concerts at a lower rate than the preceding two generations.

Consider we Gen Xers and Millennials have done our absolute damndest to get these kids addicted to screens. Well, that succeeded. We stuck ipads in these kids hands at age 9 and have perfected the science of app obsession in order to pad our bank accounts.

You reap what you sow.

 

[P from Malaysia]

Also there are a lot more international students who did not grow up with an interest in football let alone college football.

i came to syracuse back in 1997 as an international student & know nothing about football... and my first experience was watching the game against wisconsin, and i remember their RB Ron Dayne & i was pumped... 21 years later, here I am still following this beloved team... i wish i can be in the Dome every year to watch the team... go Orange!!

 

[NJCuse97]

i came to syracuse back in 1997 as an international student & know nothing about football... and my first experience was watching the game against wisconsin, and i remember their RB Ron Dayne & i was pumped... 21 years later, here I am still following this beloved team... i wish i can be in the Dome every year to watch the team... go Orange!!

Glad to have you on board. Ron Dayne’s homecoming that day was not what most expected. I was at that game too.

 

[elimunelson]

Sports is a bit less popular among this generation than among Millennials and Gen X. Not exactly shocking attendance is lower. They also attend concerts at a lower rate than the preceding two generations.

Consider we Gen Xers and Millennials have done our absolute damndest to get these kids addicted to screens. Well, that succeeded. We stuck ipads in these kids hands at age 9 and have perfected the science of app obsession in order to pad our bank accounts.

You reap what you sow.

I agree with everything you said here but i think this generation of kids still appreciates a live sporting event. That feeling of showing up to the Dome for a big game is something special. It was fun to be with your fellow students heading to the Dome. I was once an 18 year old in Day Hall addicted to more primitive video games like NHL 94/Tecmo Bowl as well. I'm sure my parents were lamenting the fact I didn't want to go outside in 1988 but wanted to beat the last boss in Zelda also.

I think my overall point is there are certainly more entertainment options but at the same time, a live sporting event when there is a big game will always deliver the students to the Dome. I don't buy the cost of attendance as the reason at all.

 

[Scooch]

I agree with everything you said here but i think this generation of kids still appreciates a live sporting event. That feeling of showing up to the Dome for a big game is something special. It was fun to be with your fellow students heading to the Dome. I was once an 18 year old in Day Hall addicted to more primitive video games like NHL 94/Tecmo Bowl as well. I'm sure my parents were lamenting the fact I didn't want to go outside in 1988 but wanted to beat the last boss in Zelda also.

I think my overall point is there are certainly more entertainment options but at the same time, a live sporting event when there is a big game will always deliver the students to the Dome. I don't buy the cost of attendance as the reason at all.

Agreed, kids still love events. But they don't want to, or need to, tolerate anything considered lesser. If SU is good and playing against a good team then attendance will be solid. But students and adults alike don't need to endure games against tomato cans, or suffer through non-competitive and non-entertaining seasons.

Honestly, attendance doesn't worry me. It'll come when the team is actually good again. And adults will ALWAYS complain about the students, because adults are constantly on an insufferable nostalgia trip.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Agreed, kids still love events. But they don't want to, or need to, tolerate anything considered lesser. If SU is good and playing against a good team then attendance will be solid. But students and adults alike don't need to endure games against tomato cans, or suffer through non-competitive and non-entertaining seasons.

Honestly, attendance doesn't worry me. It'll come when the team is actually good again. And adults will ALWAYS complain about the students, because adults are constantly on an insufferable nostalgia trip.

Yeah, man. Adults are just the worst.

 

[TheCusian]

Win.

Then figure out if you have a problem that can be solved. Until then, really hard to sell mediocrity.