While we know that Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Tennessee have the stadiums with the largest seating capacities in the FBS, which programs do the best job of filling their seats?
Think about it – isn’t consistently selling every available ticket more impressive than having the most seats to start with?
Following are the Top 25 FBS programs in fill rate for the 2018 season. These are the schools who did the absolute best with what they had to work with.
25. TCU (7-6) – 95.3% (Amon G. Carter Stadium holds 50,000)
23T. WISCONSIN (8-5) – 96.1% (Camp Randall Stadium holds 80,321)
23T. NOTRE DAME (12-1) – 96.1% (Notre Dame Stadium holds 80,795)
22. IOWA (9-4) – 96.4% (Kinnick Stadium holds 70,585)
21. AUBURN (8-5) – 96.6% (Jordan-Hare Stadium holds 87,451)
20. MICHIGAN STATE (7-6) – 96.8% (Spartan Stadium holds 75,005)
19. OHIO STATE (13-1) – 97.1% (Ohio Stadium holds 104,944)
18. TEXAS A&M (9-4) – 97.2% (Kyle Field holds 102,733)
16T. OLD DOMINION (4-8) – 97.6% (S.B. Ballard Stadium holds 20,118)
16T. TEXAS (10-4) – 97.6% (DKR – Texas Memorial Stadium holds 100,119)
15. OREGON (9-4) – 98.2% (Autzen Stadium 54,000)
14. LSU (10-3) – 98.5% (Tiger Stadium holds 102,321)
13. WASHINGTON (10-4) – 98.6% (Husky Stadium holds 70,083)
11T. CLEMSON (15-0) – 98.7% (Memorial Stadium holds 81,500)
11T. NC STATE (9-4) – 98.7% (Carter-Finley Stadium holds 57,583)
9T. PENN STATE (9-4) – 99% (Beaver Stadium holds 106,572)
9T. WEST VIRGINIA (8-4) – 99% (Mountaineer Field holds 60,000)
8. KANSAS STATE (5-7) – 99.5% (Bill Snyder Family Stadium holds 50,000)
7. UCF (12-1) – 99.6% (Bright House Networks Stadium holds 45,301)
6. ALABAMA (14-1) – 99.7% (Bryant-Denny Stadium holds 101,821)
5. GEORGIA (11-3) – 100% (Sanford Stadium holds 92,746)
4. UTAH (9-5) – 101.1% (Rice-Eccles Stadium holds 45,807)
3. MICHIGAN (10-3) – 102.9% (Michigan Stadium holds 107,601)
2. OKLAHOMA (12-2) – 103.9% (Oklahoma Memorial Stadium holds 86,112)
1. NEBRASKA (4-8) – 104.2% (Memorial Stadium holds 85,458)
By conference, the Big Ten leads the way with seven members on the honor roll. Tied for second are the Big 12 and SEC with five members apiece, then the Pac-12 with three, the ACC with two and finally the Independents, American and C-USA are represented by one member each.
Most impressive is Nebraska, which has suffered consecutive 4-8 finishes but still managed to lead the nation in fill rate on both occasions (the Cornhuskers filled 105.1% of their seats in 2017). Compare that to Florida State, who dropped to 5-7 last season and filled only 85.8% (No. 44 nationally) of Doak Campbell, which holds a more reasonable 78,560.
Also worth recognizing is Old Dominion, tied at No. 16 with Texas. Though the Monarchs’ Ballard Stadium is the third smallest in the FBS with only 20,118 seats, they managed to keep them full despite going 4-8. Compare that to Western Kentucky, which plays in 22,113-seat L.T. Smith Stadium. The Hilltoppers filled only 64.4% (No. 88 nationally) of their seats in 2018 with a similar 3-9 mark.
Finally, props to NC State, the only ACC representative on the list except for Clemson, which has only lost one home game in five seasons. Compare the Wolfpack’s 98.7% fill rate (which ties them with the national champs) to more recognizable ACC schools such as Miami (94.1%), Virginia Tech (89.9%), Georgia Tech (78.3%), Louisville (77.3%) and North Carolina (69.2%).
On the other extreme, following are the bottom 25 teams in fill rate in 2018.
106. UCLA (3-9) – 55.3% (Rose Bowl holds 92,542)
107. USF (7-6) – 53.2% (Raymond James Stadium holds 65,890)
108. MEMPHIS (8-6) – 53.1% (Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium holds 61,008)
109. EASTERN MICHIGAN (7-6) – 52.8% (Rynearson Stadium holds 30,200)
110. KENT STATE (2-10) – 51.8% (Dix Stadium holds 25,319)
111. UCONN (1-11) – 51.5% (Rentschler Field holds 40,642)
112. HAWAII (8-6) – 51.4% (Aloha Stadium holds 50,000)
113. MIDDLE TENNESEE (8-6) – 50.6% (Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium holds 30,788)
114. UNLV (4-8) – 47.4% (Sam Boyd Stadium holds 36,800)
115. SAN JOSE STATE (1-11) – 46.8% (CEFCU Stadium holds 30,456)
116. ULM (6-6) – 46.7% (Malone Stadium holds 27,617)
117. BALL STATE (4-8) – 45.7% (Scheumann Stadium holds 22,500)
118. NEW MEXICO STATE (3-9) – 45.2% (Aggie Memorial Stadium holds 30,343)
119. LOUISIANA (7-7) – 44.8% (Cajun Field holds 41,264)
120. TEXAS STATE (3-9) – 43.7% (Bobcat Stadium holds 30,008)
121. NORTHERN ILLINOIS (8-6) – 43.3% (Huskie Stadium holds 24,000)
122. RICE (2-11) – 42.9% (Rice Stadium holds 47,000)
123. CENTRAL MICHIGAN (1-11) – 42.4% (Kelly/Shorts Stadium holds 30,255)
124. NEW MEXICO (3-9) – 42.3% (Dreamstyle Stadium holds 39,224)
125. TEMPLE (8-5) – 40.9% (Lincoln Financial Field holds 69,176)
126. SOUTH ALABAMA (3-9) – 40.2% (Ladd-Peebles Stadium holds 40,000)
127. KANSAS (3-9) – 38.8% (Memorial Stadium holds 50,071)
128. UTSA (3-9) – 38% (Alamodome holds 64,000)
129. UAB (11-3) – 33.9% (Legion Field holds 71,594)
130. UTEP (1-11) – 27.5% (Sun Bowl holds 51,500)
By conference, the MAC and C-USA are tied for the most members who struggled to fill seats in 2018 with five each. Next up, the American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt are tied with four members apiece followed by the Pac-12, Big 12 and Independents, all with one member each.
To be fair, two of the programs listed – USF and Temple – share their home fields with an NFL franchise, meaning they have more seats to fill than their Group of 5 counterparts. Also worth highlighting are Memphis, UTSA, UAB, and UTEP, which all play in stadiums designed to host bowl games rather than a single programs’ regular-season slate. Finally, there are Hawaii, which plays in a venue that was the long-term site of the NFL Pro Bowl and Rice, which plays in the same stadium which hosted Super Bowl VIII.
The biggest surprise is UCLA, one of only two Power teams listed. While yes, the Bruins play in the tenth largest stadium in the FBS, the Rose Bowl, their fill rate of 55.3% is more like Tulsa (which filled 57% of its 30,000 seats in 2018) than USC (which earned a 70.7% fill rate despite having 78,467 seats to fill). As far as lagging performance being the issue (UCLA hasn’t had a winning season since 2015), Tennessee, which plays in the fifth largest FBS venue (Neyland Stadium holds 102,455) has suffered a similar losing streak yet still managed to fill 90.8% of its seats in 2018.
Perhaps most puzzling is Northern Illinois at No. 121. The Huskies play in the ninth-smallest stadium in the FBS and still couldn’t manage to fill even half of their seats last season. Throw in the fact that NIU went 8-6 (with half of the losses coming vs. Iowa, Utah and Florida State) and won the MAC title in 2018 and the number becomes even more troubling.
Fill rate data courtesy of Phil Steele’s 2019 College Football Preseason Magazine.