re: The Fan Attendance Issue

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I can add some things about enrollment. In 2008 UA had over 70% of the student body from the state of AL. Now it sits at 40%. The college is focused on money and building pipelines to the other state. Alabama in 2016 gave out over 130 million to out of state students for free tuition that was merit based. But they receive 18k each year for their room & board which is a lot higher then what an instate would pay.

Out-of-state enrollment at University of Alabama

Top states, 2017
Georgia 2,595
Texas 1,915
Florida 1,789
Illinois 1,623
Tennessee 1,549
California 1,271
Virginia 826
North Carolina 780
New York 736
New Jersey 736

As someone mentioned these new students do not grow up in the state and do not have the ties to the program or family tradition to the team. They come to UA because it is cheaper to get an education then instate in some of their states and easier to get in. I do not mean academically the requirements are less because last years incoming class avg. was around 3.8 with 1/3 having a 4.0, but in states like Illinois where the population is far greater then AL there are just less spots at the instate schools.

To be honest a great business model and why the school has so much new construction going on but these are not die hard home grown football fans.

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Bumping to show numbers again and the trend of the college.

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The trend is going the other way. The more out of state students the more money. As mentioned earlier in this thread the college gave out over 130 million in merit based money to out of state kids in 2016 and that number will continue to climb.

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Friend's daughter experienced the favoritism to out-of-state kids firsthand on their visit to UA while entertaining scholarship offers. Her high school record was impeccable(4.2 GPA, 34 on the ACT, very active in extracurriculars, etc.) yet she didn't feel Alabama really wanted her. Both her parents are Bama grads. She's at Auburn now.

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Games in those days were always in doubt. We lost to LA Tech, Hawaii, Northern Illinois. That doesn't happen anymore plus kids today are just different.

Dogshit opponent, Dogshit Time is going to have bad attendance. That is not immune to the students.

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Maybe SummerofGeorge's day goes back farther, like mine, to when those games were never in doubt.

You also had a lower student-to-seat ratio. 15,000 students to 10,000-15,000 seats. Now there are more than double the number of students than there are seats...and students still don't fill those seats.

You know what you also didn't have back then? Internet, cell phones, and 10 different games to watch on a Saturday. True story...when Alabama played at Washington in 1978, the only way to watch that game was to pay admission to get into Coleman Coliseum and watch on closed circuit.

You want all the seats filled? Here's what you do:

1. Cut the number of student seats.
2. Keep all of those seats available until game day to sell online and at the stadium.
3. Deeply discount those tickets.
4. Don't allow anyone to buy more than 2 or 4, and keep them out of the hands if brokers and scalpers.
5. Do like the Braves and other MLB teams and create a family package for $70 that gets you 4 seats, 4 hot dogs, and 4 cokes.

This will create opportunities for those who can't afford to bring their families.

There are a lot of people out there who will fill those seats if you give them the opportunity.

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What specific thing or things gave her that impression?

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Well, I wasn't there so I don't have anything specific. From what he said, there was just more attention paid to the out-of-state kids on their visit. I'm sure there was more to it, but I've never really taken much time to ask him about it. I do know he was so bothered by it he didn't renew his basketball or football tickets.

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Maybe she had friends going there and any reason was enough to do it.

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Her 2 best friends didn't go to Auburn, so not sure that was it but who knows with teenagers today. One is at Bama, and the other is at Birmingham Southern.

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It cost more then that when said and done if not close to TTown.

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True.

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And then even those tickets you are talking about are not worth the paper they are printed on if you have to sit in the nose bleeds.

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Meh. If we're talking about a mom and dad and two kids who've never been, or maybe once every couple of years, this is irrelevant.

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He can't control the time

You probably aren't playing at 11 if you scheduled a decent team.

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You realize who we're playing this Saturday at 11:00, right? Tell us how much control Saban or Byrne had over who we're playing or the start time.

Go ahead. We'll wait.

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Students got a right to a ticket. They are students at the University. They can't make them go.

This.

As long as they want to continue the "amateur athletics"/student-athlete charade, the students should get a certain amount of priority.

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So now all the seats in Coleman Coliseum will be reserved for students only. Sucks for the rest of us, I guess.

Student seating should be allocated based on demand. If student attendance drops, drop the allocation, period.

The idea that 35,000 students have a right to a ticket is comical.

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Perhaps it's more likely that she was looking for a reason to go Auburn. Maybe she had friends going there and any reason was enough to do it.

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Good point. At least here in the Atlanta area, Auburn seems to be the default school to go to if you really don't know what you want to do and you're making late choices.

GaTech, UGA or Alabama seem to purposeful choices that are known since the sophomore year.

Ole Miss is the other one that seems to draw the "I never thought about college until my senior year" crowd.

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What makes you think they ignored him because he didn't go to UA?

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Maybe because of his hard North Alabama accent and his clothes? But maybe they didn't assume he was sidewalk. Regardless, they were still very unfriendly. I don't think most of us are like that, but if you are a former UA student, you know the type who look down on others of lower means.

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I am sometimes guilty of this, but moreso towards the football-only sidewalk fans. The ones with little or no affiliation with the school that base their entire existence on the football team's success. People like the Finebaum caller Legend. If you've ever lived in this state, you know the ones I'm talking about. I know several fans that didn't attend Alabama, but still support the school and other sports teams, and do so with class and dignity. Have no problem with those fans

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You are 100 per cent correct. Many sidewalk alumni could give a hoot about the university other than its football. However, my sidewalk father DID have high regard for academics, and would have gone to college if his family could have afforded it.