[baymeadows3408]

Thank you for taking the time to collect and analyze the numbers. We knew what the trend was but now we have some data. The Big Game in 1997 had the benefit of it being the 100th renewal (and we are coming up on 125 in a few weeks) and in 1999 a Pac-10 championship and Rose Bowl berth were on the line. We had a good team in 2001 but Cal was awful, which probably hurt attendance. And the Notre Dame game in 2001 likely would have had better attendance if it wasn't cold and rainy. But ultimately those blips don't matter because you can see the much larger trend.

I think the ascendance of the 49ers also played a role in the downward trend in Stanford's attendance. When the 49ers were mediocre to awful, following a local college program that was competitive and/or had star power like Elway seemed like a good alternative, even if you weren't a Stanford alum. But then the 49ers got good and Stanford got bad. I don't think there is anyway to prove this hypothesis and I don't think it's the only reason why attendance began to decline in the 1980s and 1990s, but I do think the reversal of fortunes for the 49ers and Stanford had some sort of impact. Now excuse me, I'm going to imagine an alternate universe in which Walsh stayed at Stanford and coached Elway and Stanford became a college football juggernaut...

[baymeadows3408]

Thank you for taking the time to collect and analyze the numbers. We knew what the trend was but now we have some data. The Big Game in 1997 had the benefit of it being the 100th renewal (and we are coming up on 125 in a few weeks) and in 1999 a Pac-10 championship and Rose Bowl berth were on the line. We had a good team in 2001 but Cal was awful, which probably hurt attendance. And the Notre Dame game in 2001 likely would have had better attendance if it wasn't cold and rainy. But ultimately those blips don't matter because you can see the much larger trend.

I think the ascendance of the 49ers also played a role in the downward trend in Stanford's attendance. When the 49ers were mediocre to awful, following a local college program that was competitive and/or had star power like Elway seemed like a good alternative, even if you weren't a Stanford alum. But then the 49ers got good and Stanford got bad. I don't think there is anyway to prove this hypothesis and I don't think it's the only reason why attendance began to decline in the 1980s and 1990s, but I do think the reversal of fortunes for the 49ers and Stanford had some sort of impact. Now excuse me, I'm going to imagine an alternate universe in which Walsh stayed at Stanford and coached Elway and Stanford became a college football juggernaut...