What will life in the WAC be like without Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii? It is possible that there will be weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth when it comes to counting gate receipts. No where was that more of a problem than with Idaho this past season. The Kibbie Dome, one of the smallest venues in the FBS, has struggled to bring in the kind of crowds needed for the Idaho Vandals to remain a Football Bowl Subdivision team.
Here is the game-by-game attendance for Idaho in 2010:
S2 (Thursday) North Dakota 45-0 win 11,466 (Idaho's Record now 1-0 with 1-0 at home)
S18 UNLV 30-7 win 15,390 (Idaho's Record now 2-1, 2-0 at home)
O23 New Mexico State 37-14 win 13,812 (Idaho's Record now 4-3, 3-0 at home)
N6 #23 Nevada 67-17 loss 11,247 (Idaho's record now 4-5, 3-1 at home)
N12 #4 Boise State 52-14 loss 16,453 (Idaho's record now 4-6, 3-2 at home)
D4 San Jose State 26-23 win 8,011 (Idaho's final record 6-7, 4-2 at home)
According to the NCAA, Idaho's 2010 attendance was 12,730, which was 2nd worst in the FBS. In 2009, they were at 12,546, which means they saw only a slight improvement. Looking at Idaho's attendance history, the pattern is similar year after year.
When was Idaho's attendance the best?
1. Against Boise State.
2. Against winnable FBS opponents
3. When going to a bowl game was a possibility
4. In October and November when attendance in not inhibited by weather.
Boise State will not be on the schedule for a while. Therefore, Idaho should look as some of the other strongly attended games and pattern future schedules in the same manner. They should avoid playing games late in the year. This is curious. Why would you avoid playing games late in the season if you have an indoor stadium? It is because much of their fan base has to travel to Moscow. You can keep the game indoors and out of the weather, but you can not keep travel to the game indoors and out of the weather. If I were Idaho, I would forget about playing anything at home after Thanksgiving. The crowds do not seem to turn out. Here are the full recommendations.
1. Patch things up with Boise State and keep the rivalry going.
2. Try to play the games against the stronger conference opponents earlier in the season.
3. Fans will remain interested if there is something worth playing for at the end of the season...keep the schedule balanced.
4. No home games after Thanksgiving.
Finally, do not give up the dream for a new outdoor stadium. Just, first, work on getting people to the current indoor stadium.
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