If Ball State athletic director Bill Scholl were to grade the crowd and atmosphere at Scheumann Stadium for the season opener, he’d give it a high grade.
“I think it’d be the in B+ to A- range,” Scholl said. “Like [head coach Pete Lembo] said, we have a lot to work on, but we did a lot of good things. I think that sums up the crowd situation as well.”
The crowd of 16,327 was the largest for a home opener in the last six seasons, surpassing the 2009 opener’s attendance of 16,054. The game against North Texas was the first game following the 2008 season when Ball State finished 12-2.
Scholl, Lembo and the rest of the athletic department have made strides to increase attendance and improve the atmosphere at football games. In the last year, the student rewards program, Countdown 2 Kickoff and a video board have been used to get more students and the Muncie community to come watch Ball State.
The incentives have helped, but Scholl puts more weight on creating a winning culture with the football program.
“You start to put good years back to back to back, and that’s what creates a fan base,” Scholl said. “But if you want to sustain that fan base, you have to be good for a long period of time. That’s what we’re striving for.”
Ball State promoted the game against Illinois State as a “White Out,” encouraging fans and students to wear white shirts. The Cardinals wore their white jerseys against the Redbirds, traditionally used for road games.
The student section on the east side of the stadium was nearly two-thirds full by kickoff and was completely full by the end of the first quarter. The west side of the stadium was mostly full while the south stands behind the end zone were about half full.
But at halftime, when Ball State was trailing 21-16, a large crowd of students made for the exits. The score may not have mattered, as it’s common to see students leave the game during halftime.
That leaves another challenge for Scholl and the athletic department.
“Obviously, our preference is every fan that comes at the beginning stays until the end,” Scholl said. “That’s what we’re working toward. I think [Thursday] night was better. But it’s a process, and we’ll look at things we can do to motivate people to stay through the end of the game.”
The crowd at the beginning of the third quarter was better than most games in the past two seasons at Scheumann Stadium, especially in the student section. The crowd did begin to disperse by the fourth quarter, when Ball State started to turn the game into a rout.
The home opener has drawn well in the last seven seasons for Ball State. Every game but one since 2006 has drawn at least 10,000 to the game. The one outlier is the 2011 home opener against Buffalo, but it was technically the second “home” game for Ball State on the schedule as the season opened against Indiana University at Lucas Oil Stadium.
That game drew 8,964 to watch Ball State beat Buffalo 28-25.
Scholl said he hopes to see crowds of 16,000 or more for home games against Kent State and Central Michigan later this season. A full Scheumann Stadium in October and November will weigh more to him than the crowd at the home opener.
For that to happen, Scholl said the answer is simple: win games.
“Opening day in any sport is always going to be a big draw,” Scholl said. “I think if we stay in the hunt [for the Mid-American Conference title], I think with each week we’ll begin to realize was it just an opening day phenomenon or are we building a fan base.”
If last season’s attendance numbers indicates anything to Ball State, the fan base is growing. Last season’s game against Western Michigan on Oct. 13 drew 14,192, the most for a home game in October or November since Lembo took over as coach.
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