Probably the most densely packed part contained in the Rose Bowl on Saturday was crammed with followers carrying the colours of the visiting staff.
Swathed in pink and white, they crammed into one nook of the century-old stadium for what amounted to a nightlong celebration.
Followers cheering for the house staff had been extra subdued and scattered all through a stadium that appeared about one-third full, outnumbered by empty seats, visiting followers and people huge blue-and-gold tarps masking most of every finish zone. Intentionally or not, Fox cameras contained in the stadium confirmed these watching from dwelling solely broad photographs crammed with graphics that obscured the paltry crowd.
By late within the third quarter, the one suspense remaining in UCLA’s 43-10 blowout loss to Utah was ready for the introduced attendance. Reporters within the press field got a determine of 35,032, which appeared inflated given so many empty seats beneath them.
It was.
The scan depend, a tally of individuals truly inside the power, was 27,785, in keeping with athletic officers.
Artistic accounting is the norm in school soccer given there are not any standardized practices for attendance reporting. The Huge Ten and different conferences go away it as much as particular person colleges to plan their very own formulation.
UCLA defines its introduced attendance as tickets distributed — together with freebies — plus non-ticketed and credentialed people akin to gamers, coaches, employees, distributors, cheerleaders, band members, performers and even media. Throughout city, USC’s introduced attendance consists of solely tickets distributed, in keeping with an athletic division spokesperson, which was 62,841 for the season opener towards Missouri State.
In current seasons, UCLA’s introduced attendance was typically greater than double the scan depend, in keeping with figures obtained by The Instances via a public data request.
For UCLA’s dwelling opener towards Bowling Inexperienced on a sweltering September day in 2022, the introduced attendance was 27,143, a report low for the staff since transferring to the Rose Bowl earlier than the 1982 season.
The precise attendance was a lot decrease. UCLA’s scan depend, which represented individuals who entered the stadium (together with the aforementioned non-ticketed and credentialed people) was 12,383 — 14,760 fewer than the introduced attendance. The scan depend for the following sport, towards Alabama State, was only a smidgen greater at 14,093.
These eager for an on-campus stadium may quip that UCLA may as properly maintain some video games at Drake Stadium given the monitor facility holds 11,700 and will in all probability accommodate a number of thousand extra with short-term bleachers positioned reverse the everlasting grandstands.
Empty seats aren’t only a sport day buzzkill given their correlation to misplaced income.
“Since we are now in the era of NIL and revenue sharing, where cash is king,” mentioned David Carter, an adjunct professor of sports activities enterprise at USC, “every school hoping to play competitive big-time football needs to generate as much revenue and excitement around its program as possible. But since empty seats don’t buy beer or foam fingers, let alone merchandise and parking, any and all other forms of revenue are needed to offset these chronic game day losses in revenue.”
Declining income is very troublesome at a college whose athletic division has run within the pink for six consecutive fiscal years. The Bruins introduced in $11.6 million in soccer ticket income throughout the newest fiscal yr, down practically half from the $20 million they generated in 2014 when the staff averaged a report 76,650 followers on the Rose Bowl underneath coach Jim Mora. However one athletic official mentioned the college in 2025 may come near matching the $5.5 million it generated in season ticket income a yr in the past.
Low attendance is a deepening concern. UCLA’s 5 worst dwelling season-attendance figures since transferring to the Rose Bowl in 1982 have come during the last 5 seasons not interrupted by COVID-19, together with 46,805 final season. That determine ranked sixteenth among the many 18 Huge Ten Convention groups, forward of solely Maryland and Northwestern, which was taking part in at a brief lakeside stadium seating simply 12,023.
Latest attendance numbers remind some longtime observers of the small crowds for UCLA video games within the late Nineteen Seventies on the Coliseum, which was a part of the explanation for the staff’s transfer to Pasadena. Throughout their ultimate decade of calling the Coliseum dwelling, the Bruins topped 50,000 followers solely six occasions for video games not involving rival USC.
“Now, disappointingly, it would appear that the same attendance challenges that UCLA football faced at the Coliseum in the 1970s are repeating themselves at the Rose Bowl,” mentioned John Sandbrook, a former UCLA assistant chancellor underneath chancellor Chuck Younger and one of many main energy brokers within the college’s change to the Rose Bowl.
Attendance woes are hardly confined to UCLA. Sixty-one of 134 Soccer Bowl Subdivision groups skilled a year-over-year decline in attendance final season, in keeping with D1ticker.com.
UCLA faces a number of distinctive challenges, significantly early every season. Its stadium resides 26 miles from campus and college students don’t begin courses till late September. Different explanations for low turnouts have included late begin occasions such because the 8 p.m. kickoff towards Utah, lackluster nonconference opponents and triple-digit warmth for some September video games.
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava mentioned he appreciated those that did present up Saturday, together with a throng of family and friends from his hometown Lengthy Seaside.
“Fan base came out and showed their support, man,” Iamaleava mentioned. “You know, it felt great going out there and playing in front of them. Obviously, we got to do our part and, you know, get them a win and make them enjoy the game.”
On some events, UCLA’s attendance figures have intently mirrored the variety of individuals within the stadium, together with high-interest video games akin to Colorado coach Deion Sanders’ look in 2023. For that sport, the introduced attendance (71,343) solely barely exceeded the scan depend (68,615).
The rivalry sport additionally will get followers to indicate up. The introduced attendance of 59,473 final season for USC’s 19-13 victory on the Rose Bowl wasn’t far off from the scan depend of 51,588.
See all these empty seats? There have been fewer than 13,000 followers in attendance to see quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, proper, and broad receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala have a good time a landing towards Bowling Inexperienced in 2022.
(Mark J. Terrill / Related Press)
Nonetheless, as traditions go, artistic accounting may predate the eight-clap. Just like fudging practices recognized to be widespread at different colleges, UCLA officers have been recognized to decorate attendance figures, typically rounding far sufficient previous the following thousand to not pressure credulity, in keeping with two individuals accustomed to operations who spoke on situation of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Moreover, in keeping with a former college administrator who noticed the observe, a member of the athletic division employees would present a slip of paper with a instructed attendance determine for basketball video games at Pauley Pavilion within the Sixties and Nineteen Seventies to athletic director J.D. Morgan, who would both nod or take a pen and alter the quantity to 1 extra to his liking. That observe continued underneath subsequent athletic director Peter Dalis, the administrator mentioned.
Whereas declining to remark for this story, present athletic directors have acknowledged the problem of drawing followers in an more and more crowded sports activities panorama that now consists of two native NFL groups. Amongst different ventures, UCLA has created a brand new fan zone outdoors the stadium that may be loved with out buying a ticket and can maintain a live performance on the north aspect of the stadium the day of the Penn State sport early subsequent month.
Whereas there’s no promotion like profitable, because the saying goes, there additionally could also be no salvaging the state of affairs for the Bruins’ subsequent dwelling sport. UCLA will face New Mexico on Sept. 12 for a Friday night kickoff that can pressure followers to battle weekday site visitors to see their favourite staff face an opponent from the Mountain West Convention.
Courageous souls who go searching and listen to the introduced attendance may expertise inflation on the rise as soon as extra.
