DIA needs to do absolutely everything in its power to sell out the Michigan game (including offering free tickets or frickin' paying people to attend, lol). That would get us our first sell out since 2016, and we sorely need one to keep the momentum going, IMO! These are the crowds of 60k or over we have pulled in the last 25 years:
--- Memorial Stadium Capacity = 60,670 ---
2016: 60,670 vs. North Carolina (Lovie's first big home game)
2011: 60,670 vs. #22 Michigan
--- Memorial Stadium Capacity = 62,870 ---
2010: 62,870 vs. #2 Ohio State
2009: 60,523 vs. Northwestern
2009: 60,119 vs. Michigan
2009: 62,870 vs. Michigan State
2009: 62,870 vs. #13 Penn State
2009: 62,347 vs. Illinois State
2008: 62,870 vs. #10 Ohio State
2008: 62,870 vs. Iowa
2008: 62,870 vs. Indiana
2008: 62,870 vs. Minnesota
2008: 60,131 vs. Eastern Illinois (first home game after 2006-2007 renovation)
*** Memorial Stadium capacity was only 57,078 during 2007 Rose Bowl season ***
--- Memorial Stadium Capacity = 69,249 ---
2002: 69,249 vs. #14 Michigan
--- Memorial Stadium Capacity = 70,904 ---
2001: 70,904 vs. Penn State
2001: 70,904 vs. Wisconsin
2000: 61,207 vs. #13 Ohio State
2000: 62,639 vs. Iowa
2000: 72,524 vs. #10 Michigan (the terrible replay game)
So only 19 games in 25 years of pulling over 60k, and almost 85% of them were over 15 years ago. Pretty sad, but as I have said before, our attendance is trending very much in the right direction. I hope we keep it going!!
P.S. It's pretty crazy the goodwill the Rose Bowl season earned us even into a 3-win 2009 campaign. Shows you how much talent there still was in Champaign and how we all held out hope it would come together.
I have to believe that the 2009 season put the major dent in our attendance going forward, and it was the 0-6 end to the 2011 season that started the real downward spiral toward the Lovie years.