Game attendance remains an issue

Fans came out after season-opening win, but interest then waned

UConn football’s average announced attendance dipped below 20,000 for the first time since Rentschler Field opened in 2003, reflecting diminished public interest in a struggling program.

The school sold or gave away 109,296 total tickets for six Huskies home games, for an average of 18,216 per contest — a 13 percent decline from 2018. Announced attendance (i.e. tickets distributed) peaked at 23,108 for a Week 2 game against Illinois and fell as low as 12,084 for the season finale against East Carolina.

The program’s dip in tickets distributed appears easy to explain: Coming off a dispiriting 1-11 year, the Huskies struggled once again, going 2-10 without a conference win. Announced attendance increased after a season-opening win over Wagner, then generally declined from there as the Huskies continued to struggle. Meanwhile, UConn’s home schedule was relatively weak, without a single ranked opponent.

The drop in tickets distributed was also likely exaggerated by a policy change that made tickets free for all students. Whereas announced attendance figures in previous years included all students who held season tickets, in 2019 they included only students who showed up for a given game.

Attendance trends weren’t all bad for UConn this fall, however. Despite the decline in tickets distributed, the average number of fans actually attending UConn games this season (as measured in tickets scanned at the gates) increased slightly year over year, from 10,032 to 10,286.

According to the athletic de