With two home games under Ball State's belt, the athleticsdepartment is breathing a little easier in terms of attendance.Ball State stadium is averaging 20,593 fans per game so far thisyear, well above the 15,000 average required by the NCAA.
Even though three home games remaining in the season need onlyto average 11191 fans in the remaining games to meet theregulation, that's not enough for Athletics Director BubbaCunningham.
"We want to continue to get 18,000 for all the games," he said."We don't want to fixate on a particular number."
As the Homecoming game arrives, Ball State is hoping a crowdsimilar to recent years to get closer to 15,000.
Over the past five years, the Homecoming games have averaged acrowd of 18,858. An attendance mark similar to the average wouldmean the Cardinals would only have to bring 7,500 fans per gameover the final two contests.
"Those two opening games are the largest events ever attended bythe Ball State community," Cunningham said. "It's unlike anythingelse we can offer."
While the penalties of missing the 15,000 mark are notspecified, the rule reads that all Division I-A programs must meetthe requirement, which has led many to believe that programs willlose their I-A status should they fall below 15,000.
One of the requirements for membership in the Mid-AmericanConference is a Division I-A football program.
"Our conference is very important to us," Cunningham said. "Theschools in the MAC are very similar to us in terms of size andgeography. It's a real benefit to the institution.
"If we were to fall under 15,000, we wouldn't be members of theMAC. I don't think the other leagues in the Midwest are as good ofleagues for Ball State as the MAC."
Ball State has made several moves this season to improveattendance and the atmosphere of Ball State football, the mostsignificant of which was the addition of the permanent lightingsystem.
"We just need to stay at the same level," Cunningham said. "Thelights were helpful--we just need to play well."
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MAC'S ATTENDANCE WOES
Ball State is not the only school dealing with attendancewoes.
While only one school, Central Michigan, is currently below the15,000 mark attendance tends to fall as the year progresses.Weather and losing records are commonly attributed to the drop offat the end of the year.
Several MAC schools have losing records and lower attendancenumbers with multiple games remaining.
Eastern is nursing a 16,922 attendance average with two gamesremaining and a 1-4 record. The Falcons need only to average 11,006fans in their two remaining games to secure the record. One ofthose two games is against Central Michigan at Ford Field.
Akron has four home contests remaining and has a 1-4 record.Akron's only home game, against Middle Tennessee State, drew 17,263spectators. Akron will need to average 14435 fans in theirremaining four games to meet the requirement.
Buffalo has averaged 20,593 fans over it's first two games, butthat number is skewed by a crowd of 29,013 that came out for theseason opener against Syracuse. Buffalo only drew 12,173 fansagainst UCF last weekend, and still has three home games. Buffalowill need to draw 11271 fans per game to meet 15,000.
Kent State, Western Michigan and UCF are all well above theaverage but have a combined record of 2-11. UCF and WesternMichigan have only hosted one game, while Kent State has hostedtwo.
Ohio, which has a winning record at 3-2, has only averaged16,077 fans after two games, but may see a boost this weekend whenthey face MAC power Marshall.
Central Michigan has already fallen below 15,000, averaging13,774 after two games. The Chippewas will need to average 15817over the final three games to stay above the average, but CMU hasnot been able to draw over 15,255 for a game this season.
All these statistics still face an audit from the NCAA and couldbe reduced before the official numbers are released.
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