SEC trying to get crowds back to stadiums

The Southeastern Conference has all the built-in advantages when it comes to selling college football: Incredibly passionate fan bases, relatively little competition from professional sports franchises and a long history of competitive teams.

Even so, the league isn’t immune to a national trend of falling attendance.

Like other schools around the country, SEC programs are trying to do something about it.

There’s no one-size-fitsall approach, so schools are using tactics they feel appeal to their respective fan bases. Some examples include: Mississippi State recently slashed concession prices, Ole Miss unveiled a new mascot named ‘Landshark Tony’ to try and connect with kids and LSU has added ‘The Chute,’ which is a 21-and-older section that offers premium food and drinks.

“It’s top of mind every day on how you make it cool and engaging for fans,” Ole Miss athletics director Ross Bjork said.

The SEC saw a drop of more than 2,400 fans per game last season, which was the biggest decline of any Power Five conference.

The drop in attendance wasn’t limited to the SEC, with the entire Football Bowl Subdivision losing an average of about 1,400 fans per game in 2017. The American Athletic Conference had the biggest drop at nearly 3,000 per game. Most other conferences had more modest losses while two conferences — the Mountain West (832 per game) and the Big Ten (76) — saw an increase.

The SEC is still in a good position relative to the other leagues. The 14 teams draw an average of about 75,000 fans per game, or nearly 10,000 more than the nearest league. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said several factors went into last year’s drop, including an abnormally high number of imminent coaching changes around the league.