The MAC game at Miami of Ohio was criticized for its poor attendance.

I think that was totally off the wall. The better observation is that all week-nite games tend to decrease attendance. Attendance for the NIU/Toledo game looked great, but NIU is ranked. Cold weather did not seem to hold back attendance substantially as it did for Miami of Ohio.

But when a team is a losing team such as Miami of Ohio or AFA, that week nite game will absolutely kill attendance. Other than the cadet corps, there were very few people in attendance for the UNLV/AFA game....as it was brutally cold and AFA is a losing team.

Warm weather really helps. The attendance for Rutgers @UCF looked impressive, no doubt boosted substantially by UCF's football success.

I think conferences, as they do their tv contracts and include week nite games, should specify warm weather sites if their conference's geography allows that. For example, play that week nite game at New Mexico or SDSU or SJSU for the MWC conference. Obviously, MAC does not have a warm weather option and, from time to time, will take their attendance lumps. But the MAC is wise to play these week nite games and get the national exposure they would not get otherwise. I enjoyed the NIU/Toledo game and watched it into the fourth quarter until UNI flexed their muscle and took over the game.

(11-22-2013 10:58 AM)Tallgrass Wrote:  until UNI flexed their muscle and took over the game.

The bottom of AFA's attendance has fallen out recently.

I don't know about actual crowd but there was a game this year listing under 18,000 in Colorado Springs. They had a great run for a long time under DeFisher Berry where it was 45-50k every year but it appears over.

The irony is the night games take place in November when the weather sucks and teams get bye weeks in October when the weather is still decent.

Just for perspective.

In 1973 the season was 11 games, it started on September 8 and ended December 1 with most schools not playing their first game until September 15 and finishing November 24, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

.

I watched the game. It was freezing cold.

They reported 29,898.