If at any time during your bowl viewing this season you thought, “There is nobody in the stands!” not only were you not alone – you were 100% correct.
The cumulative number of people attending the 40 FBS bowls (not including national title game) went down from 1,720,733 in 2015-16 to 1,634,287 in 2016-17. That’s 86,446 fewer fans in the seats for the same number of games that were offered up last season.
Winners and Losers vs. Last Year
The Biggest Losses
5. TAXSLAYER (-15,110): 2015 Georgia-Penn State (58,212) vs. 2016 Georgia Tech-Kentucky (43,102)
4. CITRUS (-17,050): 2015 Michigan-Florida (63,113) vs. 2016 LSU-Louisville (46,063)
3. SUGAR (-18,040): 2015 Ole Miss-Oklahoma State (72,117) vs. 2016 Auburn-Oklahoma (54,077)
2. COTTON (-23,197): 2015 Alabama-Michigan State (CFB Playoff Semifinal) (82,812) vs. 2016 Western Michigan-Wisconsin (59,615)
1. BIRMINGHAM (-28,201): 2015 Auburn-Memphis (59,430) vs. 2016 USF-South Carolina (31,229).
The Biggest Gains
5. RUSSELL ATHLETIC (+8,207): 2015 Baylor-North Carolina (40,418) vs. 2016 West Virginia-Miami Fla. (48,625)
4. CURE (+8,677): 2015 San Jose State-Georgia State (18,536) vs. 2016 UCF-Arkansas State (27,213)
3. ARIZONA (+13,443): 2015 Nevada-Colorado State (20,425) vs. 2016 South Alabama-Air Force (33,868)
2. MUSIC CITY (+18,018): 2015 Louisville-Texas A&M (50,478) vs. 2016 Nebraska-Tennessee (68,496)
1. HEART OF DALLAS (+18,888): 2015 Washington-Southern Miss (20,229) vs. 2016 Army-North Texas (39,117)
Overall Attendance
Highest Overall Attendance
5. TEXAS (68,412) – Texas A&M vs. Kansas State
4. MUSIC CITY (68,496) – Nebraska vs. (21) Tennessee
3. FIESTA (71,279) – (3) Ohio State vs. (2) Clemson (CFB Playoff Semifinal)
2. PEACH (75,996) – (4) Washington vs. (1) Alabama (CFB Playoff Semifinal)
1. ROSE (95,128) – (9) USC vs. (5) Penn State
Lowest Overall Attendance
5. CAMELLIA (20,300) – Appalachian State vs. Toledo
4. QUICK LANE (19,117) – Maryland vs. Boston College
3. ST. PETERSBURG (15,717) – Miami Ohio vs. Mississippi State
2. MIAMI BEACH (15,262) – Central Michigan vs. Tulsa
1. BAHAMAS (13,422) – Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion
Fill Rate
Awarding accolades for total ticket sales is somewhat misleading because each bowl had a different number of total seats to fill. Even though the Bahamas had the lowest total attendance at 13,422, it only had 15,023 tickets to sell to fill Robinson Stadium. The bigger picture is it filled 89.34% of its available seats and left only 1,601 spots open, among the fewest this bowl season.
We’ll expand the rankings for fill rate to the top ten to recognize smaller bowls who achieved high marks.
Highest Fill Rate
10. HOLIDAY BOWL (90.2%) – Minnesota vs. Washington State – 48,704 (attendance) of 54,000 (capacity at Qualcomm for San Diego State games) – 5,296 empty seats
9. ALAMO (92%) – (12) Oklahoma State vs. (10) Colorado – 59,815 of 65,000 – 5,185 empty seats
8. TEXAS (95.3%) – Texas A&M vs. Kansas State – 68,412 of 71,795 – 3,383 empty seats
7. CAMELLIA (96.67%) – Appalachian State vs. Toledo – 20,300 of 21,000 – 700 empty seats
6. DOLLAR GENERAL (96.73%) – Ohio vs. Troy – 32,377 of 33,471 – 1,094 empty seats
5. FIESTA (98.7%) – (3) Ohio State vs. (2) Clemson (CFB Playoff Semifinal) – 71,279 of 72,200 – 921 empty seats
4. MUSIC CITY (101.2%) – Nebraska vs. (21) Tennessee – 68,496 of 67,700 – over capacity by 796
3. PEACH (102.4%) – (4) Washington vs. (1) Alabama (CFB Playoff Semifinal) – 75,996 of 74,228 – over capacity by 1,768
2. ROSE (102.8%) – (9) USC vs. (5) Penn State – 95,128 of 92,542 – over capacity by 2,586
1. ORANGE (103.2%) – (6) Michigan vs. (11) Florida State – 67,342 of 65,326 – over capacity by 2,016
Lowest Fill Rate
10. POINSETTIA (52.1%) – BYU vs. Wyoming – 28,114 (attendance) of 54,000 (capacity) – 25,886 empty seats
9. NEW ORLEANS (47.9%) – Southern Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette – 35,061 of 73,208 – 38,147 empty seats
8. HAWAII (46.4%) – Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee – 23,175 of 50,000 – 26,825 empty seats
7. MIAMI BEACH (44.9%) – Central Michigan vs. Tulsa – 15,262 of 34,000 – 18,738 empty seats
6. BIRMINGHAM (43.6%) – USF vs. South Carolina – 31,229 of 71,594 – 40,365 empty seats
5. HEART OF DALLAS (42.5%) – Army vs. North Texas – 39,117 of 92,100 – 52,983 empty seats
4. CURE (41.9%) – UCF vs. Arkansas State – 27,213 of 65,000 – 37,787 empty seats
3. FOSTER FARMS (40.3%) – Indiana vs. (19) Utah – 27,608 of 68,500 – 40,892 empty seats
2. ST PETERSBURG (34.6%) – Miami Ohio vs. Mississippi State – 15,717 of 45,369 – 29,652 empty seats
1. QUICK LANE (29.4%) – Maryland vs. Boston College – 19,117 of 65,000 – 45,883 empty seats
Perhaps the most telling statistic of all is 651,373 – that’s the total number of seats left open this bowl season. It amounts to 28% of the 2,285,660 available seats being empty.