Oklahoma State, Big 12 Attendance Compared to SEC, Other Conferences

There are so many different ways to look at the new college football attendance numbers that it can be overwhelming, but I did find a few things about them interesting. The first is that the Big 12 is losing customers at a slower rate than both the SEC and ACC, and it’s pretty close with the Pac-12.

In 2017, the Big 12’s average attendance declined for the fifth-consecutive year (in the new league with WVU and TCU), but it did so at just a 1.2-percent clip. The SEC declined by 3 percent and the ACC wasn’t far behind that.

I’ve been preaching for a long time that I think the demise of the Big 12 is greatly exaggerated and this is another bullet point in my favor.

/SEC signs 55-year, $283 billion contract with ESPN/

OK, point taken.

Here’s a look at year-over-year attendance for Big 12 teams. The only teams that improved their attendance from 2016 to 2017 were Iowa State (no surprise), Oklahoma State and Kansas.

For OSU, this number will surely go down in 2018 (and almost certainly be negative, given that 56,790 represents a sellout) given that Bedlam is in Norman.

Still, it’s interesting. I was also also surprised to see that OSU had the fourth-highest average attendance in the league behind OU, Texas and Iowa State. I was even more surprised to learn that Iowa State was third (!)

I threw together a chart showing average attendance within the Big 12 and for Oklahoma State since the flip to TCU and WVU in 2012. When Bedlam has been in Stillwater, Oklahoma State has been right at the league average (OU and Texas are really bringing up that league average, huh?). When it’s been away like it is in 2018, OSU has, uh, not.

It’s important to note that the maximum capacity in Boone Pickens Stadium is now 56,790 or OSU’s 2017 attendance would have likely been even higher than it was.

As Big 12 attendance continues to (hopefully slowly) decline, I would imagine (hope?) OSU’s number stays steady in odd-numbered years. But it’s clear in that chart that the things affecting the Big 12 at large (namely TV, social media and #bloggers) are also affecting Oklahoma State attendance specifically. And I’m not totally sure how OSU (or anyone) can reverse that trend.