Tigers’ football attendance is high
Memphis' best football season in program history led to the highest average announced attendance since 2015, according to figures obtained by The Commercial Appeal through an open records request.
For its seven home games in the 2019 season, Memphis averaged 38,816 announced fans.
It's the most since the Tigers averaged 43,802 fans in 2015 and ended a three-year decline in average attendance.
It's a 28.2% increase from average attendance in 2018, when the Tigers averaged 30,178 fans, the lowest since 2013.
The school also sold 271,710 tickets
in 2019, the most since 2003 when they sold a school-record 284,352 tickets.
The Tigers had six regular season home games last season but also hosted the AAC championship, which counted as a home game. That game, which the Tigers won 29-24 over Cincinnati, drew the second-lowest crowd of the season with 33,008 fans announced by the school.
Just like 2015 when the Tigers announced a sellout facing Ole Miss, 2019's announced attendance was boosted by a sellout crowd when the Tigers hosted SMU on Nov. 2. The school announced that 59,506 fans were in attendance, the most ever for a Tigers home game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium that didn't include an SEC opponent.
The figures were also boosted by the Tigers hosting Ole Miss on Aug. 31 for the first time since that 2015 win.
Memphis announced 44,107 fans were in attendance for a game the Tigers won 15-10.
The Tigers' lowest attended game of the season came on Oct. 19 against Tulane when the team drew 30,221 fans for a 47-17 win that started a seven-game winning streak.
Scanned average attendance increases
Based on tickets scanned at the Liberty Bowl, actual attendance also increased in 2019 to an average of 27,304 per game.
That's almost 10,000 more than 2018 the Tigers averaged 17,806 fans in actual attendance.
Announced attendance refers to tickets sold or distributed but actual attendance is the turnstile count for each game. Fans who purchase tickets might not show up for a variety of reasons.
Although Memphis announced a sellout for SMU, actual attendance based on tickets scanned showed 43,036 fans in attendance. Against Ole
Miss, the Tigers reported 34,274 in actual attendance.
For the Tigers' home game against Southern, the actual attendance was 17,364, almost half of the announced attendance of 34,487.
Some Tigers fans also have complained about their tickets not being scanned despite Liberty Bowl officials saying they've tested the scanners repeatedly to ensure accuracy.
The discrepancy between announced and actual attendance is nothing new in either college or pro sports.
Memphis basketball had a similar issue when their announced average attendance of 14,065 for the 2018-19 was the biggest one-year spike in attendance by any program since Arkansas in 1994
Yet according to turnstile figures, the Tigers' actual attendance was 8,813 fans, which allowed the program to receive a partial payment from Grizzlies per terms of its lease with Fedexforum.
Memphis 2019 football attendance
Aug. 31 vs. Ole Miss - 44,107 (34,274)
Sept. 7 vs. Southern - 34,487 (17,364)
Sept. 26 vs. Navy - 33,909 (25,188) Oct. 19 vs. Tulane - 30,221 (20,566) Nov. 2 vs. SMU - 59,506 (43,036) Nov. 29 vs. Cincinnati - 36,472 (25,467)
Dec. 7 vs. Cincinnati* - 33,008 (25,236)
Total: 271,710 (191,311)
*AAC championship
**Actual attendance in parentheses
Memphis average attendance since 2015
2015 - 43,082 (26.061)
2016 - 37,346 (20,813)
2017 - 33,307 (18,165)
2018 - 30,178 (17,806)
2019 - 38,816 (27,304)
*Actual attendance in parentheses You can reach Evan Barnes on Twitter (@Evan_b) or by email at evan.barnes@commercialappeal.com