Gators attendance rises, UCF dips and FSU plummets in 2019
The Florida Gators delivered a successful football season and fans turned out to watch, with the program seeing a slight jump in home attendance in 2019-20.
The Gators, who capped an 11-2 campaign with a win over Virginia in the Orange Bowl, averaged an announced crowd of 84,684 for their six home games this season. That’s up nearly 3% from when the program averaged 82,328 in 2018-19. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was at 95.6% capacity throughout the home schedule.
It’s the first increase in average attendance since the 2015 season.
The attendance numbers were based on announced attendance provided by the NCAA and compiled by the Sentinel. It doesn’t include actual tickets sold, which often are not disclosed by schools.
UCF saw its average home attendance figures dip slightly for the first time since 2015.
The Knights (10-3) averaged 43,788 fans throughout their six home games this season, which is down from the 44,019 the program averaged in 2018-19. Spectrum Stadium remained at nearly 99% capacity throughout the home schedule this season, hitting a season-high 45,216 during the team’s regular-season finale against rival USF on Nov. 29.
It’s the second consecutive season in which UCF has averaged more than 43,000 fans per game.
For the third straight season, Florida State saw its average home attendance drop.
The Seminoles averaged 54,019 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium in 2019-20, which was down more than 20% from the previous year’s average of 68,288. The 2019-20 figure is down 30% from the last time the program saw an increase in 2016 (76,800).
FSU fired coach Willie Taggart after a 4-5 start to the season and replaced him with interim coach players energized fans,
Odell Haggins, who finished 2-2. The team finished 5-2 at home with wins over Louisville and Wake Forest. The Seminoles have hired former Memphis coach Mike Norvell to lead the football program, citing a steep decline in attendance among the reasons they fired Taggart after less than two full seasons leading the program.
Miami also saw a decline in the average home attendance this season, going from 61,469 in 2018-19 to 52,829 in 2019-20. Hard Rock Stadium was at 81% capacity for the six home games this season, which included wins over Virginia and Louisville.
It was the Hurricanes’ first decline in average attendance since slight increase
the 2015 season.
USF saw its average home attendance drop by 17.4% this season as the Bulls struggled to a 4-8 record. It was the worst attendance mark since a 4-8 record in 2014, and it eventually led to the firing of head coach Charlie Strong.
USF averaged 31,823 fans at Raymond James Stadium in 2019-20, which was down from the 38,517 fans the team averaged last season.
Florida Atlantic parlayed a championship season into a slight increase in average home attendance this season. The Owls and Gators were the only Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the state to show increases in attendance.
FAU captured its second Conference USA title and second 11-win season in the past three years. The team averaged 17,607 fans for its eight home games, including the conference championship game. That’s up slightly from the 17,051 fans the school averaged last season.
FIU finished with its first losing season since 2015, and the program saw its average home attendance drop for the second time in the past three seasons. The Panthers averaged 13,874 fans in 2019-20, with FIU Stadium at nearly 70% capacity throughout the six home games.