Wake up Bison Nation!

[Twincitybizon]

Bummer about attendance. I'd go to every game and watch every blow out and be as happy as a clam. But..... have a 2 week old baby and live in the MSP metro sooooo i need the FM area to get their poop in a group and support the mighty bison for a bit in my absence

[CoachFSCB]

I've got all the attendance figures from all FCS playoffs games since 2013 (to see how they're trending overall). These are NDSU's games:

2013
2nd round vs Furman: 18,455
Quarters vs Coastal Carolina: 18,219
Semis vs UNH: 18,694
Total: 55,368
Average: 18,456

2014
2nd round vs SDSU: 18,113
Quarters vs Coastal Carolina: 18,049
Semis vs SHSU: 18,025
Total: 54,187
Average: 18,062

2015
2nd round vs Montana: 18,232
Quarters vs UNI: 18,041
Semis vs Richmond: 18,105
Total: 54,378
Average: 18,126

2016
2nd round vs San Diego: 18,305
Quarters vs SDSU: 18,285
Semis vs JMU: 18,282
Total: 54,872
Average: 18,291

2017
2nd round vs San Diego: 18,067
Quarters vs Wofford: 17,008
Semis vs SHSU: 18,279
Total: 53,354
Average: 17,785

So last year saw about a 3% decline from previous years. If the trend continues this year we're looking at about a 6.5% decline this year. It's not a promising trend.

Thanks for doing this research on playoff attendance. Your position seems to be that there is quite an alarming downward trend, but I think it’s hard to state firmly that attendance at Bison playoff games is firmly trending lower, and here’s why:
2017 did see fewer fans than 2016, but attendance at the 2016 playoff games were ALL higher than the corresponding games in 2014 and 2015. In fact, we could have had a thread at the end of 2016 stating that Bison playoff attendance was trending upward.
According to the data, the second round games have traditionally been about on par with attendance at the semi-final round games with a slight dip in attendance in the middle for the quarter-final games:

2013-2017 Bison attendance at Fargodome
Second round games: 91,172 total – average of 18,234 per game
Quarter-final round: 89,602 total – average of 17,920 per game
Semi-final round: 91,385 total – average of 18,277 per game

Last year, attendance for the second- and semi-final round games was not much different from the previous three years.

Yes, the attendance for the second round playoff game last year was 1.3% lower than 2016, but remember that the 2016 game trailed only 2013 for the highest second round attendance. If you compare last year to 2014, the decline was a miniscule quarter of a percent, and that was with San Diego as an opponent for the second straight year, which might have kept some fans away.

Last year’s semi-final against Sam Houston State drew only THREE people less than the year before, and that 2016 semi-final against James Madison had more folks attend than either of the 2014 or 2015 semi-final games.

Granted, there was a 7% drop off in the quarterfinals last year compared to the previous year, but that 2016 contest against South Dakota State drew the highest attendance of any quarter-final game, so a drop off from that level could have been expected. Will we have another reduction this year? I think it is quite possible, simply because from year to year, attendance can be greatly influenced by who the opponent is. With Colgate as the opponent, I suspect we may have another somewhat sparse quarter-final attendance like last year. If James Madison would have been coming to the dome on Saturday, I think there would have been much more excitement and buzz and we may have been looking at a crowd that, combined with a normal-sized semi-final crowd December 15, might have put the Bison on track to even surpass last year’s playoff total.

The playoff games last year were down 2.8% from 2016, which seems like a lot, but keep in mind that the 2014 playoff games were down 2.2% from 2013 but rebounded to be higher again in both 2015 and 2016.

Is attendance at Bison playoff games trending downward overall? Maybe, but I think it is too soon to say for sure. It is apparent that attendance is volatile and varies from year to year – lower in 2014, higher in 2015 & 2016, and lower in 2017. Considering that the best year for playoff attendance, 2013, is only two thousand fans more than the worse year, 2017, and considering that the price of tickets has risen quite a bit over that time, I’d say that the Bison are continuing to draw well in the post-season. In my opinion, there is just not enough evidence yet to say for certain that playoff attendance is on an overall downward trajectory.

[oldmantutters]

There's a good chance we could set the playoff attendance record next week....so there's that.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[fmfantasy]

Everyone knows this clown is a troll, right??

47580229_10218975492885399_5418442702393966592_n.jpg47681830_10218975492925400_3617339899004321792_n.jpg

Would a TROLL wear this to the game? oh yes I would... so say hi if you see me..

[El_Chapo]

If fcs is so great. Why doesn't. UCLA ILLINOIS INDIANA (teams w zero shot at playoffs) move to fcs?

NDSU doesn't belong in FCS. Period.

And Chris Moan You can go F yourself no one likes you , NO ONE

[WhoRepsTheLurker]

I expect a good game from Colgate. Sagarin has them right around Weber. They'll be pumped and they have a great coach. Should be fun.

[WhoRepsTheLurker]

and yes you are a troll

[bison22]

Looks like section 13 just opened up. Loooot of tickets now.

[EC8CH]

47580229_10218975492885399_5418442702393966592_n.jpg47681830_10218975492925400_3617339899004321792_n.jpg

Would a TROLL where this to the game? oh yes I would... so say hi if you see me..

Ok. Now I get it.

[Bison bison]

I really like the little derigibles that drop coupons. Ndsu needs to get one of those next year.