Now that the season is over, I wanted to a look at the attendance numbers from this season. I want to say up front that I'm not trying to shame the fanbase or anything like that. I get that the momentum was kind of killed early in this season and there was still a pandemic going on and all of that. I actually thought the crowd was really energetic yesterday and made a difference in the game.
That said, the numbers are not pretty. Missouri finished with an average home crowd of 46,473. That is the lowest figure since 1996 (not including last year, of course). In fact, every year from 1997 through 2019, Mizzou averaged at least 50,000 in the stands. It never hit that number once this season. It is nearly 8,000 fans less per game than in 2019.
Obviously we don't yet know where that ranks in the SEC because half the league still has another home game to play. In 2019, only two teams in the league averaged less than 50,000 fans: Ole Miss and Vandy. I do think attendance is going to be a bit down for everyone versus two years ago. But regardless, I think this further illustrates the fact that getting more people in the seats is the biggest challenge facing Desiree Reed-Francois and the rest of the athletic department.
That said, the numbers are not pretty. Missouri finished with an average home crowd of 46,473. That is the lowest figure since 1996 (not including last year, of course). In fact, every year from 1997 through 2019, Mizzou averaged at least 50,000 in the stands. It never hit that number once this season. It is nearly 8,000 fans less per game than in 2019.
Obviously we don't yet know where that ranks in the SEC because half the league still has another home game to play. In 2019, only two teams in the league averaged less than 50,000 fans: Ole Miss and Vandy. I do think attendance is going to be a bit down for everyone versus two years ago. But regardless, I think this further illustrates the fact that getting more people in the seats is the biggest challenge facing Desiree Reed-Francois and the rest of the athletic department.
