The CardBoard
Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - Printable Version

+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like (/thread-25951.html)

Pages: 1 2

Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - StanUSwagU - 12-20-2025

For Stanford or Anyone really wanting to see what a Home Saturday Stadium Environment should look like, tune in today now, to see the College Football Playoff game Texas A&M vs Miami hosted by Texas A&M in CollegeStation Texas at Kyle Field !

Stadium Full, Fans roaring, Music on Stadium PA system 'blaring at maximum decibels', so that for 3 hours after the game your ears will be still be ringing, ...and ALL the Texas A&M fans stand all game ! ... a beautiful sight to see !

[Stanford should incentivize filling the Stadium with StanU Fans & all StanU Fans standing all game ! ]

Thats College Football !

[By the way Starting running back EJ Smith (who used to play for StanU) is balling out; I cannot blame him for wanting to play at a University that has Good Academics, but also goes 'All-Out' prioritizing BigTime College Football ! ]

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - Embo - 12-20-2025

Texas A&M has an undergraduate population of 62,543 for fall 2025.  Stanford's undergraduate students numbered 7,554 in fall 2024.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - StanUSwagU - 12-20-2025

(12-20-2025, 11:41 AM)Embo Wrote:  Texas A&M has an undergraduate population of 62,543 for fall 2025.  Stanford's undergraduate students numbered 7,554 in fall 2024.

Embo,

Hope all is well. Thanks for the reply.

I am well aware of Texas A&M's undegraduate enrollment student population number of approx 62,000 undergrads.
I am well aware that their Stadium holds 105,000 people.
I have attended 2 games at Kyle Field (Texas A&M).

Obviously i was talking about trying to replicate this proportionately as far as :


Filling our 50,000 person stadium, by going beyond Stanford Students & Alums and 'Stanford People'

(Here is just 1 option for Outreach 'Beyond Stanford People' to fill the Stadium on Saturdays !)

(1) The BayArea has over 2 miilion people, CollegeStation,Texas where A&M is, is small.
(2) The 49ers operating in the same geography, almost fill their stadium (which seats 70,000) every Home Sunday ; [This means their are at least 50,000 BayArea/NorthernCA based-people who like Football and Tailgating & Partying at weekend Football Events]

(3) Stanford has or should have a relationship with the 49ers [the 49er GM JohnLynch is a StanU Alum]

(4) If StanfordFootball & the Athletic Department do outreach to those 49er fans, to (A) let them know that they 'can get their Saturday Tailgating & Football Fix' down on the Farm & (B) arrange with JohnLynch and the 49ers that any 49er fan can apply thru the 49ers to get a free StanfordFootball season pass (maybe Stanford even pays the 49ers to promote this program) , ...and they get 25,000 of their 60,000 BayArea/NorthernCA based 49er fans to 'adopt StanU as their College Football team & Stanford University as their Saturday 'Tailgating & Partying Site', ...thats potentially adding 25,000 football fans each Saturday into the Stanford Stadium

(5) And this is just 1 option for outreach to 'Non Stanford People' to come down on Saturdays to fill the stadium.

(6) Lastly, I think StanU plans to 'increase undergraduate enrollment', which is a plan that is about 15 years overdue; 15years ago this should have been started. Not to be too critical (and i know there are challenges with the SantaClaraCounty on expansion), but we seem to always be 'a bit late to the party' on when we 'pull the trigger' on 'adapting to the New Landscapes'.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - 82lsju - 12-20-2025

(12-20-2025, 11:41 AM)Embo Wrote:  Texas A&M has an undergraduate population of 62,543 for fall 2025.  Stanford's undergraduate students numbered 7,554 in fall 2024.

regarding alumni, I would guess A&M has substantially more within driving distance of their campus than we do

total alums ~250k
alums by location (undergrad + grad + grad/undergrad)

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - fullmetal - 12-20-2025

A&M is really just a football team with some schools attached to it.  Yeah, I've had family members with Aggie degrees and all, but no way would I ever want Stanford to be A&M.  There's a reason they're a particularly good fit for the SEC.  How much money are they paying Fisher and Sumlin not to coach there?

Now, if Stanford had as much booster/NIL money as A&M did, I would say Stanford could have a nearly/equally successful football team.  I don't know if that would cause Stanford Stadium to turn into a temple to college football, but we'd need the money first.  

If we want to be A&M, we gotta pony up and put our money where our mouths are.  It just doesn't happen the other way around.  You think Notre Dame, with about 8.9k undergrads is a great program simply because they turn out a lot of fans?  Lol.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - BostonCard - 12-20-2025

(12-20-2025, 02:26 PM)fullmetal Wrote:  Now, if Stanford had as much booster/NIL money as A&M did, I would say Stanford could have a nearly/equally successful football team.  I don't know if that would cause Stanford Stadium to turn into a temple to college football, but we'd need the money first.  

Exactly.  The going rate for a top tier QB these days is going to be about $5 mm (link).  If you have that much cash burning a hole in your pocket and it’s important for your ego to be associated with a winning football program, who am I to tell you what to do with your money.  But otherwise, all of this “Stanford should do…” or “Stanford could be just like Texas A&M if only they…” is just empty wish casting.  This is a message board, so anyone can say what they want, but if you really want a winning Stanford team, go out and make a gazillion dollars and then use it to buy a winning team.

BC

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - Mick - 12-20-2025

Of course the fans turn out for Texas A&M's games compared to Stanford. Stanford has to compete with a real NFL team nearby and Texas A&M doesn't... ;)

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - yvonne - 12-21-2025

Whoa! Comparing A&M and Stanford? I cannot imagine two more culturally different schools. Everything is different about them. 

Imagine a school the size of Cal, but with a flat, a more spacious campus in a largely rural area. Add an agricultural school. Have most of the students identify primarily as the team mascot name. Now, enroll 10% of the student body in a specially-named ROTC group called the Corps of Cadets. Make all the schools revolve around the Corps or some other military tradition. In fact dress the band in military-style khaki uniforms. Be sure maintain traditional gender roles. Some of the women will become "boot chasers" — pursuers of senior corps members.

Now, as for the game day experience and other football experiences, the entire student body must stand the entire game to signal their readiness to enter the game. The night before the game, the student body shows up at midnight to practice cheers (yells). During the game, five male yell leaders dressed in all white will use hand signals to tell the crowd which yells to do, at which point, the crowd leans forward puts their hands on their knees and yells. Oh, and if the game is close in the fourth quarter, the band members will squeeze their privates to share in the team's pain before a game tying/winning field goal or similar.

None of this football-is-everything, militaristic ethos is remotely similar to that of Stanford students.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - fullmetal - 12-22-2025

A&M alumni will drive from all over the state to attend games. For many of them, it is a central, sometimes overriding, element of their personality and identity.  Additionally, as with many large state universities, their fanbase contains a significant number of non-alumni fans who have come by their affiliation through geographic proximity, family ties, etc.  Their fandom doesn't compete with the NFL team fandom, it overrides it.

I know there are a lot of Stanford fans who are diehards in that direction, and they're wonderful people, but I would never want Stanford fandom to be the biggest thing about a person's life.  I like to meet great, well-rounded people who happen to be Stanford fans.  I'm not sure it's a good thing to have a fanbase made up of people for whom Stanford fandom is the only/best thing they want to go after in their lives.  I know that's not the case for all A&M fans, but I have seen a lot of them.

Anyway, A&M pays Jimbo Fisher $77.5 million to sit at home and not coach, and they have money on top of that to fund a CFP-level team.  If Stanford makes the CFP, the fans will come.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - jacket3ree - 12-22-2025

Y'all are overthinking this.

There are:

2.7 million people within half an hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

5.8 million people within an hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

9.0 million people within a two-hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

How do you get even half a percent of those people (30,000 would be a nice regular crowd) within an hour's drive to go to a handful of Stanford games every year?

Forget the excuses about alumni and they all move away. Market to the local population. (Start by stop hammering how awesome and elite and exclusive Stanford is and aren't you glad we wouldn't let the likes of you step foot in our hallowed halls.) Forget the "competition" with the team ten exits down 101 that plays on Sunday. It has been awhile since I looked at historic attendance records to hypothesize that the downsizing of Stanford Stadium was not going to cut people off from attending football games, and was I right about that, unfortunately. There was almost zero correlation between the Niners being good and Stanford attendance being bad. Different markets. 

How does Stanford make the football experience good enough that more than a handful of diehards willing to go no matter what, will go?  It goes beyond winning, because I remember watching a top 6 Stanford with Andrew Luck under center play Oregon State (winning 38-0) and barely anyone was there. The weather was fine that I recall. Sure. The last week in November so maybe college football fans simply don't exist in the Bay Area. And if that is the case, there really is no hope of generating the sort of enthusiasm SwagU is looking to generate.

It doesn't need to be Aggieland. Honestly, they seem sort of weird in a cultish way, although that band is awesome. Just 30,000 regulars or semi-regulars and a packed house when warranted.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - BostonCard - 12-22-2025

That’s kind of a non-sequitor.  If it were just the size of the metropolis near a team then Columbia should have the highest attendance in college football.  Alas, there is very little evidence that having a nearby large city has any impact on attendance.

I’m going to twist the knife a little bit but this example is illustrative.  Georgia Tech, sitting in Atlanta, a metro area with 6.3 million inhabitants, averaged 38,200 fans in 2024.  The university of Georgia, sitting in a metro area with 215,000 people (1/30 the size of Atlanta) had an average attendance of 93,000, over twice that of Georgia Tech.

Being in a large metro area is neither necessary nor sufficient to engender high attendance.  It might even be a barrier, since large metro areas have a host of competing cultural activities, not the least of which are professional sports teams.

BC

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - martyup - 12-22-2025

Get corporate sponsorships that give away free stuff.  People want free stuff.  Also, corporate sponsors could underwrite a portion of the cost of food at the stadium so that yummy food and beverages could be sold at ridiculously low prices.  Good cheap food and drink plus free stuff would put butts in seats.

Once you get people coming to the games, they will start following the team more closely and drag friend along.

Also, make the game experience fun for the crowd with lots of contests and prizes.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - StanUSwagU - 12-22-2025

(12-22-2025, 01:25 PM)jacket3ree Wrote:  Y'all are overthinking this.

There are:

2.7 million people within half an hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

5.8 million people within an hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

9.0 million people within a two-hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

How do you get even half a percent of those people (30,000 would be a nice regular crowd) within an hour's drive to go to a handful of Stanford games every year?

Forget the excuses about alumni and they all move away. Market to the local population. (Start by stop hammering how awesome and elite and exclusive Stanford is and aren't you glad we wouldn't let the likes of you step foot in our hallowed halls.) Forget the "competition" with the team ten exits down 101 that plays on Sunday. It has been awhile since I looked at historic attendance records to hypothesize that the downsizing of Stanford Stadium was not going to cut people off from attending football games, and was I right about that, unfortunately. There was almost zero correlation between the Niners being good and Stanford attendance being bad. Different markets. 

How does Stanford make the football experience good enough that more than a handful of diehards willing to go no matter what, will go?  It goes beyond winning, because I remember watching a top 6 Stanford with Andrew Luck under center play Oregon State (winning 38-0) and barely anyone was there. The weather was fine that I recall. Sure. The last week in November so maybe college football fans simply don't exist in the Bay Area. And if that is the case, there really is no hope of generating the sort of enthusiasm SwagU is looking to generate.

It doesn't need to be Aggieland. Honestly, they seem sort of weird in a cultish way, although that band is awesome. Just 30,000 regulars or semi-regulars and a packed house when warranted.


Agree,

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - PalmTree - 12-22-2025

(12-22-2025, 02:29 PM)martyup Wrote:  Get corporate sponsorships that give away free stuff.  People want free stuff.  Also, corporate sponsors could underwrite a portion of the cost of food at the stadium so that yummy food and beverages could be sold at ridiculously low prices.  Good cheap food and drink plus free stuff would put butts in seats.

IIRC, R&DE has the contract for the food concessions - if so, maybe this should be put out for bid, or at a minimum, performance/quality clauses need to be added


(12-22-2025, 02:29 PM)martyup Wrote:  Also, make the game experience fun for the crowd with lots of contests and prizes.

Dunk Tanks for rude/cranky redcoats!

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - 82lsju - 12-22-2025

(12-22-2025, 01:25 PM)jacket3ree Wrote:  Y'all are overthinking this.

There are:

2.7 million people within half an hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

5.8 million people within an hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

9.0 million people within a two-hour drive of Stanford Stadium.

maybe with no traffic.

We live ~6 miles from the stadium.  The last couple of years it has taken ~20 min to get from our driveway to our tailgate site arriving ~2.5 hours before kick-off.  Back when we had larger crowds to could take +/-40 minutes, and yes lots of that was literally the last mile.  Some in our group come from SF and San Ramon.  They both allocated ~1.5 hours "door to tailgate".  Getting home can be an entirely different story if much of the crowd is there until the end and leave after the game, our SF and San Ramon friends could spend over two hours getting home, not much fun, especially for a game that gets out at 11pm (or later).

Our group continues to shrink.  At our peak it was ~25 people, now we're ~10 for a good game.  People have dropped for the usual reasons, late kick-offs, unknown kick-off times until 6/12 days before the game, and the last few years poor on-field performance.  We're also all about the same age(+/- 10 years) and starting to age out and have never had "replacements" join our group.  

Last year we had some drop due to not really caring about playing teams from the ACC (and yes they know that was the only option for the team).  My main reason for still buying tickets and going to the games is seeing my friends and tailgating with them (we tailgate in Lot 2 so we have a great and convenient location).  I live close to the stadium and tailgate in Lot 2.  If I lived in SF or San Ramon I doubt I'd still be buying tickets, I'd organize events to watch the games with my friends in someone's home.

I'm also not clear what improvements in the "game day experience" would be to draw in new potential fans.  My Stanford football game day experience is not worse than the other local football game days I have gone to (49ers, Cal, SJSU).

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - Goose - 12-22-2025

(12-22-2025, 02:29 PM)martyup Wrote:  Also, make the game experience fun for the crowd with lots of contests and prizes.
YMMV. I find the contests, prizes etc. to be a very unwelcome distraction from the football game I came to see. I regard it as junk hype presented to those who were unwillingly drug to the game by parents/spouses/friends. Said people probably won't be back if they can help it.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - StanUSwagU - 12-22-2025

Just giving my opinion, not trying to insult anyone, but here goes:


(1) As many are saying here, I am well aware of the cultural differences between the 'Stanford undergrads' from this 'era/iteration' of Stanford University & say Texas A&M University. Insert NotreDame if that comp, is better for this mental exercise.
• This is why you often will hear me advocating for that to change;
• I think a slightly more diverse (less nerdy/elite) undergraduate cohort might be better for all at Stanford.
• This is why you also hear me hoping for the increase to the undergraduate enrollment (I would hope that would be 2,500 additional undergrads) to take us to a number a little above 10,000), which would be a great thing.
• Especially if a large percentage of those additional 2500 undergrads are sports-oriented undergrads, then the composition of our undegrads would be 'less nerdy & more interested in Football & Sports'
• As i have stated in numerous posts, i think its okay at the Graduate Level, to have 'specialized nerds' for whom extra-curricular interests like CollegeFootball and Sports are not even on their radar, but for our 'Undergraduate Level College', I think it might be good to have 'more Renaissance Men & Women who beyond their Academic Major interests, have broad interest in the Arts and Sports & a fervor and passion for Sports'.

(2) Also, lets say having Undergrads who go onto to become 'Millionaires & Billionaires' helps later on with having benefactors who can later donate to add to the 'AthleticsDept/Football WarChest', then increasing the undergradtuate enrollment to that extra 2500 undergads, some of whom will be 'fervently passionate about sports, & some of whom might even be from Texas, Oklahoma, & Louisiana, and like CollegeFootball and the OilBusiness, ...just means that we increase the odds & numbers for getting alums who are 'Texas-Like Oil Millionaires & Billionaires who love donating to their University for Sports'. I dont know the exact composition of our undergraduates, but i wonder how many come from Texas or Louisiana, love College Football, and are thinking of being Oil company execs or Oil Futures traders ?


(3) The contrast highlighted above (e.g by Yvonne) between A&M undergrad students and Stanford undergrad students is unfortunately accurate, but that is about 'Stanford Undergrads' and perhaps by extension true of some 'Stanford people'.

(4) But, in my post here, I try to emphasize that 'it must be Stanfords outreach to "Regular working class 'Non Stanford People' " in the BayArea/NorthernCA ...that is going to be 1 key (along with a winning football team), to have our Stadium filled on Saturdays for Football.

Jacket3tree said, "Forget the excuses about alumni and they all move away. Market to the local population. (Start by stop hammering how awesome and elite and exclusive Stanford is and aren't you glad we wouldn't let the likes of you step foot in our hallowed halls.)"

I agree with Jacket3tree 100%;

I think he is saying if you want 'Regular working class Non-Stanford BayArea/NorthernCA people' to come down on Saturdays, we are gonna have to make sure we are not perceived as 'Nerdy, Elitist, wine-sipping snobs' who are more interested in '' inventing market-consolidation apps, and AI algorithms for optimizing Crypto arbitrage strategies & private-equity takeovers", rather than 'Regular guys and gals who love CollegeFootball, Barbecues, Large Cheerleader Squads, Tailgating, Real Uniformed MarchingBands, Standing & Cheering for their home team (rather than sitting, constantly checking their smart-phone, oblivious to standing up on 3rdDown defense) on Saturday Afternoons !

Perhaps 1 of the reasons that 'Non Texas A&M folks' drive 2+ hours to KyleField (in CollegeStation, Texas), is they feel 'welcomed' & feel like Texas A&M is a 'normal place' where they can relate.

(5) Also, (although this is a spectrum), I think the 'Outreach & Marketing Efforts' of our Stanford Ath Dept for Football to 'Non-Stanford People' may not be on the same level as maybe universities like NotreDame or A&M !

Many times the week before our 1st Home game, I drive 2 hours from where I am up to Stanford on the Thursday or Friday before our 1st home game; I am astonished at how little advertising or hyping of the 1st Home Game exists. No joke, about 2+years ago, it was a 'new season' full of hope & optimism, 'fall-ball' was in the air, after the 'doldrums of football-less summer'. Our 1st Game was a Nationally Televised HomeOpener vs a Nationally recognized TCU team, a chance to do EVERYTHING in our power to 'Fill The Stadium' & show the Nation & NationalTelevision Audience, and 'Recruits', what 'Stanford & StanfordFootball' were all about; For a 1st HomeGame that means (a) You know the opponent & date all the way from May1st, so (b) You have 4 months to 'Promote & Market that HomeOpener all over the Bay/NorthernCA SF,SanJose, SantaCruz, etc & to Book some Some BigTime Artist/Entertainer to Perform before the game (the way I see KennyChesney & LukeBryan performing before Tennessee and Georgia Home Openers)..which brings in gobs of Non-Football Country Music Fans from the area to attend the football-game); I drive 2 hours up on that Thurs before this 1st HomeGame vs TCU, and am driving into campus from US 101 to Embarcadero Road' to Campus; I get to the corner of Embarcadero and El Camino, in front of the Stadium, and expect to see the Large Sign/Banner on the Corner, showing the Fall Athletes and some Advertising of the 'Home Football Schedule' on this Sign.


**** Nothing ! *******

As a matter of fact on that Thursday before our 1stHome game of a NEW SEASON, a Nationally Televised Game (ACC Stanford vs Big12 TCU), this Big Sign at the corner of Embarcadero and ElCamino, was still 'Focusing on our Stanford Olympians'; The Olympics by the way, had been over for 2 weeks at that point; I am not saying we needed to take down the 'Sign broadcasting our great Olympians'; I would just have hoped that by the Thursday before our 1st HomeGame (a BigTime Nationally Televised ACC vs Big12 rumble, an 'Event' that could interest 'regular working class NonStanford Football fans in the BayArea'), ...that at the very least, on that very Visible Corner of El Camino and Embarcadero, that there would have been 2 large, extra additional signs [1 listing out the Stanford Football Schedule & 1 with some of the Photos of our Football Captains for the Year] Why not have the 2 features beggining in August1st = (1) Stanford Olympians + (2) August 30th TCU vs Stanford ...and pay for these same Large Signs and Banners 'Advertising and Promotion in large highly-trafficked Bay Area places like Union Square in SF, & WestField-SantanaRow in SanJose & the Boardwalk in SantaCruz advertising this "TCU vs Stanford game", and advertising all the 'hoopla events' rock-concerts, Marching band battles, car-shows, 'Tailgating Barbecue Contests' that would happen that Saturday at/near the Stadium that you got admission to, if you chose to come down to the Stanford that Saturday !

But maybe that is too much to expect ?

(6) Yes, the Football Team was better then, but I dont think its a coincidence that having a Head Football Coach (Jim Harbaugh) who embodied 'BlueCollar WorkingClass & lived the mantra 'Enthusiasm Unknown to Mankind (EUTM)' & 'Football is Almost Everything' ... was correlated with a lot of "Non Stanford Folks" coming down to the Stadium on Saturdays'

During Harbaughs tenure, we had a few Spring Games at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, and I met a few "Non Stanford People" there who just then got turned onto Stanford Football, and determined to buy season tickets and make going down to Stanford their Saturday activity ! [Thats what Outreach and Going off Campus to promote Stanford Football can do] and if we Add Texas A&M / NotreDame 'fervor for CollegeFootball' (by having more diverse undergrads & Passionate College Football Loving EUTM Administrators & Staff ), ...I think many 'Non Stanford People' in the BayArea/NorthernCA would take an interest in Stanford Football and coming down on Saturdays to Stanford Stadium.

(7) I dont know what budget we spend to 'Promote and Do Outreach of Stanford Football' to 'Non Stanford People' across the Bay/NorthernCA; It would be interesting to see how much we invest/spend on that 'per-capita' compared to places like NotreDame, Oregon, USC, or Texas A&M.


Again, love my University, but just wonder if we are giving that proverbial '100%' for Outreach to 'NonStanford People' in the BayArea/NorthernCA to come down for 'GameDay Saturdays'...and as MartyUp said to make the 'GameDay Saturdays' ..."events" that Regular WorkingClass folks see as 'Fun' & Welcoming for Regular folks, [Yep, car-shows, rock-concerts, monster-truck shows, battles of the marching bands, cheerleaders, fashion-shows, FridayNight PepRallys & Bonfires, Drive-In Movies for the overnight RV'ers in The Grove, Tailgating, & Barbecue Contests may not be for some of the 'Stanford People', but might get regular working class folks in the BayArea/NorthernCA to perceive Stanford University as 'normal regular folk' & entice them to come & bring the whole family to 'GameDay Saturdays' on the Farm ! (By the way, I am a Stanford Guy & I love all the aforementioned events)].

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - jacket3ree - 12-22-2025

(12-22-2025, 02:29 PM)BostonCard Wrote:  That’s kind of a non-sequitor.  If it were just the size of the metropolis near a team then Columbia should have the highest attendance in college football.  Alas, there is very little evidence that having a nearby large city has any impact on attendance.

I’m going to twist the knife a little bit but this example is illustrative.  Georgia Tech, sitting in Atlanta, a metro area with 6.3 million inhabitants, averaged 38,200 fans in 2024.  The university of Georgia, sitting in a metro area with 215,000 people (1/30 the size of Atlanta) had an average attendance of 93,000, over twice that of Georgia Tech.

Being in a large metro area is neither necessary nor sufficient to engender high attendance.  It might even be a barrier, since large metro areas have a host of competing cultural activities, not the least of which are professional sports teams.

BC

Then we should just quit, right?  I asked how do you get those people into Stanford football. Just real crowds of 30,000 instead of 10 or 15 thousand. There are more then enough to chose from - it's not like Stanford is a crappy program out in the middle of Imperial County. It's a crappy program sitting near the border of populous San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Assuming Stanford can win and be entertaining (big assumptions), how do you get people back, or better yet, generate new fans? Ones that are willing to drive through more than 20 minutes of traffic.*

Point well taken on UGA vs. GT attendance. Although to separate Athens from Atlanta as potential locations for fans isn't really right. They are an hour apart and Atlanta is a major job center with plenty of UGA graduates. Athens' two largest employers are UGA (11,500) and Piedmont Regional Hospital (3,300). Atlanta (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA) has an estimated 3.1 million jobs. There are far more UGA fans in Atlanta than Athens. Tech is swimming upstream in a way Stanford can't fathom.

Back in the day, GT in the heart of big City Atlanta was a bigger draw than UGA, in its bowels of hell (except for the future of cool college bands) location in terms of attendance and being a premiere Southern program despite having a niche curriculum and fewer students and alumni. Tech was a hot ticket in Atlanta when my dad was there in the 1950s. Tech left the SEC in 1964, integration happened, Tech's annual fortunes slowly waned until crashing at the end of the 70s, UGA's fortunes waxed, Dooley and then Herschel came, and everything switched. Check out attendance when the proverbial worm turned in the 1960s. Sanford Stadium had a major expansion in 1967:

1964.....Grant Field 47,395 per game.....Sanford Stadium 38,600 per game
1965.....Grant Field 47,375 per game.....Sanford Stadium 44,578 per game
1966.....Grant Field 44,578 per game.....Sanford Stadium 46,163 per game

They both draw from the same basic urban population and there was a cultural shift. Far more people from Rome or Savannah or Macon or Columbus would now drive to Athens rather than Atlanta to pack Sanford and act like the idiots they are. I wish we could draw more of the idiots honestly. That said, Bobby Dodd was packed for Clemson without that much orange and packed for Syracuse with hardly any orange and filled to the gunwales against Pitt with the CFP on the line, which is why it was so disappointing they crapped the bed right out of the gate. Still, reports are that it was electric and people will be back. Longtime fans said they had goosebumps as Tech mounted its comeback. Good old (really old even) days goosebumps. Even the neutral site Mercedes Benz game against Georgia with red seats was reported to be at least half Tech fans. Stanford isn't that different than Tech in terms of the types of students attending. So why can Tech games be a draw when they win and Stanford has a harder time, at least by my observations over 40 years?

*And if it takes Georgia Tech coming to Palo Alto for me to buy season tickets to Stanford for the first time since my son made varsity in 2011, so be it. At least I won't be part of the problem any more. Honestly, that's about all I can do. Pritchard, these games better not be boring and having me wishing I was home to change the channel. I went to the GT-Stanford baseball Saturday game this year and traffic was horrific. A national protest that affected traffic on both El Camino and Alameda de las Pulgas, and tons of stuff on campus along with pretty clueless redcoats. But I did it.  I'll sign up for tickets but have noticed that Stanford never once asked where I went after 26 years of faithful purchases. I don't need them to ask, but they have an easy mark and never once asked. They know where I am. Wouldn't have been hard.
(12-22-2025, 04:49 PM)StanUSwagU Wrote:  Just giving my opnion, not trying to insult anyone, but here goes:

Jacket3tree said, "Forget the excuses about alumni and they all move away. Market to the local population. (Start by stop hammering how awesome and elite and exclusive Stanford is and aren't you glad we wouldn't let the likes of you step foot in our hallowed halls.)"

I agree with Jacket3tree 100%; 

I think he is saying if you want 'Regular working class Non-Stanford BayArea/NorthernCA people' to come down on Saturdays, we are gonna have to make sure we are not perceived as  'Nerdy, Elitist, wine-sipping snobs' who are more interested in '' inventing market-consolidation apps, and AI algorithms for optimizing Crypto arbitrage strategies & private-equity takeovers",  rather than 'Regular guys and gals who love College Football & Tailgating on Saturday Afternoons ! 

Perhaps 1 of the reasons that 'Non Texas A&M folks' drive 2+ hours to KyleField (in CollegeStation, Texas), is they feel 'welcomed' &  feel like Texas A&M is a 'normal place' where they can relate.

That's exactly what I'm saying. I may be overly sensitive to the elitist vibe, but I've gotten that in spades since showing up on campus. I'll never forget two 'first couple of days' experiences:

1. Going to the Middle Avenue Safeway in Menlo to buy some food, wearing a Stanford T-shirt. I caught so much, 'oh you think you're better than me do you, asshole' flack from the young woman running the register that I vowed never to wear Stanford-identifying merch again when doing mundane things in public.

2. My first day teaching the E21 lab and I introduced who I was and where I'm from to the class. Two clowns started humming dueling banjos. My outside voice said 'that's pretty funny (it kinda was), especially when I think your grade in lab is worth a third and your grade on homework, that I also grade by the way, is another third, so while I ain't no Bert Reynolds, I am directly responsible for two thirds of your grade in this class and Professor Hsu is retiring after this quarter, so I don't know if he will care enough to save you. Anyway, let's put names to faces.'  My inside voice said, 'you assholes are lucky I have a sense of humor and ethics. Where do you get off dissing a peer institution like that. What do you think Georgia Tech is, exactly.'

I've long thought Stanford should consider a 'let us be your number 2 (team)' marketing campaign with small discounts on individual season tickets if you identify your first team. Stanford has a brobdingnagian graduate school alumni base. Larger than the undergraduate alumni base, and most graduate students received their undergraduate degrees elsewhere. When I was a student, I went to games with a bunch of wayward ACC engineering people -- Duke, UVA. Maryland and that one rabid fan who wasn't ACC but Houston. He hated UT with the heat of a thousand burning suns. Stanford started the season at home with SJSU and Texas. That dude was a fun hang at the Texas game.

My IT guy went to Nebraska and is a ginormous college football fan. I get congratulatory texts from him about Tech and Navy games. Commiseration that they didn't beat Georgia or Army. (He was also in the Coast Guard or his dad was maybe.) He melted down when Tech lost to UGA in 8OT last year, or at least put up a pretty realistic front over melting down.  His daughter went to Oregon so he flies the Dux flag and I offered free tickets to Stanford games, including against Oregon over the years. (Can't do anything about Nebraska. We aren't Nebraska and haven't played them during my fandom.) 'No thanks. They'll just make me feel like an idiot because I wasn't good enough to go there.'

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - Mick - 12-23-2025

(12-22-2025, 05:22 PM)jacket3ree Wrote:  That's exactly what I'm saying. I may be overly sensitive to the elitist vibe, but I've gotten that in spades since showing up on campus. I'll never forget two 'first couple of days' experiences:

1. Going to the Middle Avenue Safeway in Menlo to buy some food, wearing a Stanford T-shirt. I caught so much, 'oh you think you're better than me do you, asshole' flack from the young woman running the register that I vowed never to wear Stanford-identifying merch again when doing mundane things in public.

2. My first day teaching the E21 lab and I introduced who I was and where I'm from to the class. Two clowns started humming dueling banjos. My outside voice said 'that's pretty funny (it kinda was), especially when I think your grade in lab is worth a third and your grade on homework, that I also grade by the way, is another third, so while I ain't no Bert Reynolds, I am directly responsible for two thirds of your grade in this class and Professor Hsu is retiring after this quarter, so I don't know if he will care enough to save you. Anyway, let's put names to faces.'  My inside voice said, 'you assholes are lucky I have a sense of humor and ethics. Where do you get off dissing a peer institution like that. What do you think Georgia Tech is, exactly.'

I've long thought Stanford should consider a 'let us be your number 2 (team)' marketing campaign with small discounts on individual siseason tickets if you identify your first team. Stanford has a brobdingnagian graduate school alumni base. Larger than the undergraduate alumni base, and most graduate students received their undergraduate degrees elsewhere. When I was a student, I went to games with a bunch of wayward ACC engineering people -- Duke, UVA. Maryland and that one rabid fan who wasn't ACC but Houston. He hated UT with the heat of a thousand burning suns. Stanford started the season at home with SJSU and Texas. That dude was a fun hang at the Texas game.

I like your #2 idea. My cousin is a diehard Stanford fan (he was Marquess' team manager) and has been since he was a kid. He got his MBA at Notre Dame and while he is proud of it, he doesn't generally root for Notre Dame...but if they pushed him a bit, they would sway him.

Georgia Tech is terrific. My sister-in-law is a Stanford ME/Harvard MBA and did engineering work at GaTech (not sure if she graduated). She sits on the boards of two of the 50 largest companies in the USA, so I'd say Ga Tech has some pretty accomplished alumni.

RE: Example for StanU to look at (CFP at Texas A&M):What CollegeFootball should look like - StanUSwagU - 12-23-2025

(12-23-2025, 12:16 PM)Mick Wrote:  
(12-22-2025, 05:22 PM)jacket3ree Wrote:  That's exactly what I'm saying. I may be overly sensitive to the elitist vibe, but I've gotten that in spades since showing up on campus. I'll never forget two 'first couple of days' experiences:

1. Going to the Middle Avenue Safeway in Menlo to buy some food, wearing a Stanford T-shirt. I caught so much, 'oh you think you're better than me do you, asshole' flack from the young woman running the register that I vowed never to wear Stanford-identifying merch again when doing mundane things in public.

2. My first day teaching the E21 lab and I introduced who I was and where I'm from to the class. Two clowns started humming dueling banjos. My outside voice said 'that's pretty funny (it kinda was), especially when I think your grade in lab is worth a third and your grade on homework, that I also grade by the way, is another third, so while I ain't no Bert Reynolds, I am directly responsible for two thirds of your grade in this class and Professor Hsu is retiring after this quarter, so I don't know if he will care enough to save you. Anyway, let's put names to faces.'  My inside voice said, 'you assholes are lucky I have a sense of humor and ethics. Where do you get off dissing a peer institution like that. What do you think Georgia Tech is, exactly.'

I've long thought Stanford should consider a 'let us be your number 2 (team)' marketing campaign with small discounts on individual siseason tickets if you identify your first team. Stanford has a brobdingnagian graduate school alumni base. Larger than the undergraduate alumni base, and most graduate students received their undergraduate degrees elsewhere. When I was a student, I went to games with a bunch of wayward ACC engineering people -- Duke, UVA. Maryland and that one rabid fan who wasn't ACC but Houston. He hated UT with the heat of a thousand burning suns. Stanford started the season at home with SJSU and Texas. That dude was a fun hang at the Texas game.

I like your #2 idea. My cousin is a diehard Stanford fan (he was Marquess' team manager) and has been since he was a kid. He got his MBA at Notre Dame and while he is proud of it, he doesn't generally root for Notre Dame...but if they pushed him a bit, they would sway him.

Georgia Tech is terrific. My sister-in-law is a Stanford ME/Harvard MBA and did engineering work at GaTech (not sure if she graduated). She sits on the boards of two of the 50 largest companies in the USA, so I'd say Ga Tech has some pretty accomplished alumni.



I agree,

Not the majority, but I have heard a few Stanford People, look down their nose, say or insinuate things like:

We shouldnt lower our Standards, and become like:

Duke
NotreDame
GeorgiaTech

Just my opinion:
I have worked on teams with alums from those Universities, as well as my fellow StanU alums, and have always been impressed with the intellect & critical thinking skills of the former, and in some cases the alums from NotreDame, Duke, GeorgiaTech seem to be more 'well-rounded & better able to relate & roll up their sleeves & work side by side with 'more average-intellect working-class people' at the office'.

Again this is just to say 'I think the notion that if we were to emulate some of what Duke, NotreDame, or GeorgiaTech do with their Admissions and Athletics, I dont think that would be 'lowering our standards' ; In my opinion it would be modifying/broadening/improving our standards to allow us to get some really great 'well rounded humans' into what perhaps has become a skewed 'overly nerdy micro-focussed' undergraduate student-body, who tend to not come from blue collar working class backgrounds, at least relative to the 'undergraduate study body of NotreDame, GeorgiaTech, and Duke'.