Illini Football 2024

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#51      

WeWillWhen

WeWillWhen
WeWillWhen
Mr. Tibbs said:
fwiw, they currently have a student body somewhat similar to ours , with demographics that are not as drawn to football, as say Nebraska . things have changed in the past 40 years for them as well as for us

we went out there for the game on 9-13-03 .
Pasadena is awesome .
but it has nothing in common with Westwood and our impression of their fanbase was they were all friendly genteel country clubbers that wore Tommy Bahama style fan clothes . very nice people but not like most hardcore fans at B10 games .

the location of the Rose Bowl certainly keeps a lot of students away , but I simply doubt it would change dramatically even if located on campus , which it never will be .
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I’ve lived in LA, tangentially worked for the university for a bit, and attended games off and on for 30 years.

UCLA has never drawn more than a few thousand students for games, other than the few years when they were real contenders. It’s a huge pain for kids to get to the Rose Bowl. School runs shuttle busses, but who wants to be stuck on one of those for an hour each way? (BTW, Illinois probably draws even fewer students to games, and they can all walk to the stadium!)

I’m not sure that I agree that “demographics” is the cause of student apathy towards athletics fandom. I think it’s more that UCLA attracts a way more studious, high level academics student body than it did 30-40 years ago. When my friends attended in the 80s, the admit rate was like 70%; today it’s well below 10%. Whatever the reason, it is true that students don’t show up for sports like one would expect, even for the on campus events.

There will never ever be an on campus stadium. Neighbors nixed it in the 60s, and they are way more rich and powerful today. Too bad, because the track stadium right on campus next to the dorms was designed to be expandable. Would have been great.
 
#53      

Illiniguy74

I
Illiniguy74
WeWillWhen said:
I’ve lived in LA, tangentially worked for the university for a bit, and attended games off and on for 30 years.

UCLA has never drawn more than a few thousand students for games, other than the few years when they were real contenders. It’s a huge pain for kids to get to the Rose Bowl. School runs shuttle busses, but who wants to be stuck on one of those for an hour each way? (BTW, Illinois probably draws even fewer students to games, and they can all walk to the stadium!)

I’m not sure that I agree that “demographics” is the cause of student apathy towards athletics fandom. I think it’s more that UCLA attracts a way more studious, high level academics student body than it did 30-40 years ago. When my friends attended in the 80s, the admit rate was like 70%; today it’s well below 10%. Whatever the reason, it is true that students don’t show up for sports like one would expect, even for the on campus events.

There will never ever be an on campus stadium. Neighbors nixed it in the 60s, and they are way more rich and powerful today. Too bad, because the track stadium right on campus next to the dorms was designed to be expandable. Would have been great.
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This may also be a factor. An affinity for sports is not developed. Kids don't play sandlot and blacktop sports like they used to. Many parents are afraid to have their kids wander off to play with others. Video games are a physically easier and less emotionally demanding.
 
#55      

GoDucks349

GoDucks349
GoDucks349
Mr. Tibbs said:
fwiw, they currently have a student body somewhat similar to ours , with demographics that are not as drawn to football, as say Nebraska . things have changed in the past 40 years for them as well as for us

we went out there for the game on 9-13-03 .
Pasadena is awesome .
but it has nothing in common with Westwood and our impression of their fanbase was they were all friendly genteel country clubbers that wore Tommy Bahama style fan clothes . very nice people but not like most hardcore fans at B10 games .

the location of the Rose Bowl certainly keeps a lot of students away , but I simply doubt it would change dramatically even if located on campus , which it never will be .
Click to expand...
I have to say, I find it interesting how many B1G fans seem to be fascinated with the Rose Bowl. It's not a great place to watch a college football game. Especially, UCLA home games. They block out most of the endzone seats just to make it look less empty. I think attendance averaged around 50% of capacity last year it's just dead in there. Even Martin Stadium in Pulman has more energy.
 
#56      

GoDucks349

GoDucks349
GoDucks349
Here's what a UCLA home crowd looked like 2 years ago.
 

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#57      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
GoDucks349 said:
I have to say, I find it interesting how many B1G fans seem to be fascinated with the Rose Bowl. It's not a great place to watch a college football game. Especially, UCLA home games. They block out most of the endzone seats just to make it look less empty. I think attendance averaged around 50% of capacity last year it's just dead in there. Even Martin Stadium in Pulman has more energy.
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I'm sure you're right. Thing is, many equate Rose Bowl with the (bowl) game, not the stadium. Any stadium is gonna seem tepid when half full. The stadium itself is similar to the Big House, enormous, but pretty bad sightlines.
 
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