OT: D1

[IUP24]

I haven’t seen a game there but have been to the stadium. I liked it as well. Just something about the place I suppose.

What surprised me most about Notre Dame is the size of the campus. It’s pretty small. It’s also hidden in South Bend, which is a dump in my opinion. You also don’t see signs everywhere pointing you to Notre Dame. It’s almost like they want to remain hidden. Very odd.

South Bend itself is a dump. The campus is immaculate. I went to ND in 2018 and will be their again this weekend. My opinion of ND and their fans changed dramatically after that. The mouth breathing Notre Dame fans from Munhall or Aspinwall aren't going to games at Notre Dame Stadium. I've never quite had an experience at a game like I did at Notre Dame. Those were the nicest people I have ever interacted with at a football game. They totally recognize that they are a tourist attraction, and the real fans of the team/school embrace that and are incredibly welcoming. I would encourage anyone who has never been there for a game to go. It's an unforgettable experience.

I also greatly enjoyed my time in Knoxville. Tennessee fans were incredible as well. Extremely friendly before, during, and after the game.

At the end of the day, people root for different schools, but they are all just football games. College football can be fun and enjoyable travel experiences if people didn't make things personal or think the guy that comes with a different colored shirt is automatically a jackass because they don't drink your flavor of kool-aid. I had a horrific experience at Virginia Tech. I don't think I would ever go back there. For a town/university located in an area as desolate as Blacksburg, you would think people would be appreciative of others helping to boost their local economy. Enter Sandman is cool, but man are those people rough.

[IUPNation]

I was at a Notre Dame/Navy game at the old Jimmy aHofda Mausoleum in the Meadowlands in 1980. Thats the extent of my interactions with South Bend Central Catholic.

[IUP24]

I was at a Notre Dame/Navy game at the old Jimmy aHofda Mausoleum in the Meadowlands in 1980. Thats the extent of my interactions with South Bend Central Catholic.

The people you may have interacted with or had a bad experience with outside of South Bend are not the same people going to games in South Bend.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The people you may have interacted with or had a bad experience with outside of South Bend are not the same people going to games in South Bend.

It's often luck as to who you interact with in games and parking lots. Do you get seated near the sane people or do you get stuck beside the drunken idiots.

I've had the unfortunate luck this year at IUP games of getting stuck beside a bunch of tailgating coaches (armchair QBs).

Interesting about Virgina Tech. I found that to be a pleasant experience.

[Fightingscot82]

Kevin Sumlin arrested on suspicion of DUI. He refused a breathalyzer - don't ever do that. You can refuse field sobriety but you can't refuse a breath or blood test. Automatic 1 year license suspension regardless of test result.

[Ram040506]

South Bend itself is a dump. The campus is immaculate. I went to ND in 2018 and will be their again this weekend. My opinion of ND and their fans changed dramatically after that. The mouth breathing Notre Dame fans from Munhall or Aspinwall aren't going to games at Notre Dame Stadium. I've never quite had an experience at a game like I did at Notre Dame. Those were the nicest people I have ever interacted with at a football game. They totally recognize that they are a tourist attraction, and the real fans of the team/school embrace that and are incredibly welcoming. I would encourage anyone who has never been there for a game to go. It's an unforgettable experience.

I also greatly enjoyed my time in Knoxville. Tennessee fans were incredible as well. Extremely friendly before, during, and after the game.

At the end of the day, people root for different schools, but they are all just football games. College football can be fun and enjoyable travel experiences if people didn't make things personal or think the guy that comes with a different colored shirt is automatically a jackass because they don't drink your flavor of kool-aid. I had a horrific experience at Virginia Tech. I don't think I would ever go back there. For a town/university located in an area as desolate as Blacksburg, you would think people would be appreciative of others helping to boost their local economy. Enter Sandman is cool, but man are those people rough.

I've done VT a few times, never had I had a bad experience. Enter Sandman is awesome and the crowd was great even though I was wearing other teams colors. The Swamp is a dump in Gainesville, they are way behind in upgrades there. I've read that a big investment into upgrades is on the horizon though. Doak Campbell Stadium for Florida State I thought was pretty nice as well, awesome atmosphere for a game too especially at night.

[Ship69]

I haven’t seen a game there but have been to the stadium. I liked it as well. Just something about the place I suppose.

What surprised me most about Notre Dame is the size of the campus. It’s pretty small. It’s also hidden in South Bend, which is a dump in my opinion. You also don’t see signs everywhere pointing you to Notre Dame. It’s almost like they want to remain hidden. Very odd.

Notre Dame is not a big school. They get attendance because of their football tradition and because they have, in effect, been the national Catholic university when it comes to football for about 100 years. It's a big contrast with my graduate alma mater, Northwestern, which has roughly 8,500 undergraduates but lacks Notre Dame's football tradition and religious tie-in. NU constantly gets mocked for its low football attendance by B1G public universities that have as many as 30,000 or 40,000 undergraduates. I noticed quite a few empty seats at Beaver Stadium when Penn State was going through some if its mediocre years during sanctions. NU this year is a small school without much football success that is coming off 3-9 and 1-11 seasons, plus is embroiled in a hazing scandal. That doesn't make for great turnouts. I have been impressed by the spirit of the NU football players this year, who've given it their best despite the circumstances and an obvious lack of talent.

[TheBigCat2192]

Notre Dame is not a big school. They get attendance because of their football tradition and because they have, in effect, been the national Catholic university when it comes to football for about 100 years. It's a big contrast with my graduate alma mater, Northwestern, which has roughly 8,500 undergraduates but lacks Notre Dame's football tradition and religious tie-in. NU constantly gets mocked for its low football attendance by B1G public universities that have as many as 30,000 or 40,000 undergraduates. I noticed quite a few empty seats at Beaver Stadium when Penn State was going through some if its mediocre years during sanctions. NU this year is a small school without much football success that is coming off 3-9 and 1-11 seasons, plus is embroiled in a hazing scandal. That doesn't make for great turnouts. I have been impressed by the spirit of the NU football players this year, who've given it their best despite the circumstances and an obvious lack of talent.

It’s also worth noting that a lot of the big attendance numbers you see at big schools are often a straight up lie. They do the same thing that pro sports teams and even our small-time teams do - announced attendance of whatever looks good/reasonable while the actual counted attendance is lower. For example:

The only way you can truly maximize all that revenue is if the seats are actually full, which increasingly doesn’t happen. For example, Ohio State’s 2021 home finale against Michigan State, a game with a noon kickoff, had an announced attendance of 101,858.But when I filed an Open Records Request for the actual ticket scans, Ohio State told me only they only scanned 88,630 people. Even though Ohio Stadium holds over 102,000 people, the school told me they only actually sold more than 90,000 tickets, or had more than 90,000 scans…once.

[IUP24]

It’s also worth noting that a lot of the big attendance numbers you see at big schools are often a straight up lie. They do the same thing that pro sports teams and even our small-time teams do - announced attendance of whatever looks good/reasonable while the actual counted attendance is lower. For example:

There's only three stadiums I can look at and say, "Wow that is massive." Kyle Field in College Station, Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, and Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Those three are large, vast, and expansive. All others are about the same size. The only difference is the size of "seat" you are offered on the bleachers. It's not even enjoyable to go to games in those stadiums.

Some of the SEC schools, or schools in the south in general, have stadiums that have the appearance of an NFL stadium built between 1995 and 2005. They are the same size, but replacing the seats with bleachers can add 15,000 extra "seats" to the stadium. I've been to Death Valley in Clemson. It's legitimately the exact same size as Acrisure Stadium, Paycor Stadium, etc. But all those NFL stadiums are 65.000-70,000. Clemson has bleachers and can fill 82,000. That's the only difference.

[TheBigCat2192]

There's only three stadiums I can look at and say, "Wow that is massive." Kyle Field in College Station, Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, and Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Those three are large, vast, and expansive. All others are about the same size. The only difference is the size of "seat" you are offered on the bleachers. It's not even enjoyable to go to games in those stadiums.

Some of the SEC schools, or schools in the south in general, have stadiums that have the appearance of an NFL stadium built between 1995 and 2005. They are the same size, but replacing the seats with bleachers can add 15,000 extra "seats" to the stadium. I've been to Death Valley in Clemson. It's legitimately the exact same size as Acrisure Stadium, Paycor Stadium, etc. But all those NFL stadiums are 65.000-70,000. Clemson has bleachers and can fill 82,000. That's the only difference.

IIRC Clemson is cutting down on the number of bleacher seats in order to convert more of them to luxury seating/boxes. The NFL comparison is apt as the new trend in college gameday experience is to follow the NFL and pro sports in general by trying to maximize $/seat rather than make money on volume. FSU and Michigan are also cutting seats for similar reasons and SDSU’s new stadium is closer in size and accommodations to an MLS stadium than the classic college style.

[Ship69]

IIRC Clemson is cutting down on the number of bleacher seats in order to convert more of them to luxury seating/boxes. The NFL comparison is apt as the new trend in college gameday experience is to follow the NFL and pro sports in general by trying to maximize $/seat rather than make money on volume. FSU and Michigan are also cutting seats for similar reasons and SDSU’s new stadium is closer in size and accommodations to an MLS stadium than the classic college style.

Northwestern is in planning for a proposed $800 million stadium that would actually be smaller than the current one. Ryan Field, formerly Dyche Stadium, was built around 1930 and was considered a huge stadium for the time with more than 40,000 seats. Hard as it is to believe now, Northwestern was something of a powerhouse in those days, winning three Big 10 titles in the '30s and defeating Ohio State four years in a row. They actually continued to hover around the top 10 into the '40s with the Otto Graham teams and the 1948 Rose Bowl squad. But a 47,000 seat stadium is a bit much for a school with 8,500 undergrads that isn't winning these days, so the new stadium will likely seat somewhere around 35,000.

[Fightingscot82]

I do believe FBS should have an attendance requirement. Unless the NCAA does a major about face, the system is stacked against the G5 schools, and it surely affects attendance and interest. But if they're not going to give equal access for a conference like the MAC or CUSA, then force them to draw or have them play FCS. I honestly think if not for the perceived prestige of being FBS, more schools would appreciate the equal access post-season and playoff system over playing in some backwater bowl game sponsored by a YouTuber with 5,300 people in the stands.

[TheBigCat2192]

FBS did have an attendance requirement up until this year. The NCAA decided to ditch it because it had effectively been unenforced for a while. To counterbalance that they raised the fee for applying to move up from FCS to $5mil instead of the previous $5,000.

[Fightingscot82]

FBS did have an attendance requirement up until this year. The NCAA decided to ditch it because it had effectively been unenforced for a while. To counterbalance that they raised the fee for applying to move up from FCS to $5mil instead of the previous $5,000.

Yeah I recall that there was one - which is why many of the MAC schools built stupid stadiums way beyond their needs even if Taylor Swift were performing - but it also makes attendance look much worse than it is when you have 8,000 fans in a 30,000 seat stadium.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Yeah I recall that there was one - which is why many of the MAC schools built stupid stadiums way beyond their needs even if Taylor Swift were performing - but it also makes attendance look much worse than it is when you have 8,000 fans in a 30,000 seat stadium.

I'll always flip on a whored out Wednesday night MAC game this time of year. That 8k actual humans may be a stretch.