There has been a disturbing trend across the country at college football stadiums. Students are leaving their seats early, or not even showing up at all for college football games. The causes seem to stem from high ticket prices, unfavorable start times, more lopsided games, and even fatigue.
Like many schools across the nation Michigan State University has had to combat early departures in the student section. Despite consistently selling nearly 13,500 student tickets over the past five years there have been visible gaps on several occasions in the student section at Spartan Stadium.
When asked why students may decide to leave a game early, MSU Associate Athletic Director Paul Schager said that there are three factors that play a key role; opponent, weather, and kick-off time.
Schager said that a night game against Nebraska was a perfect example of all three of those elements in effect. "It rained early and often, it was a lopsided game, we were up 27-3, the weather conditions were poor, and it was a long game," Schager said. That game, which started at 8:00 pm and lasted for over four hours, was one of the longest games in Spartan football history and featured a predominately empty student section by the 4th quarter.
Schager also indicated that fatigue may play a key role in students deciding to leave early.
"Students might not necessarily like to sit in one place or do one thing for four hours," Schager said.
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