Value of Spring Game attendance?
Notice this has been talked about in quite a few theads this time of the year, so let's have one thread.
Does spring game attendance move the needle for you? Do you care at all what number Michigan draws compared to other schools that have nothing else to do in their state?
Do recruits truly care about how many people show up for a practice? Or is it just one large, national penis measuring contest between fans and overweight, painted idiots that has come about due to the TV networks?
i've seen people on both sides of the fence here. so it now it is time to
DISCUSS
April 20th, 2015 at 12:55 PM ^
No.
No.
It's a practice. I don't even want to watch my own kids practice.
Obligatory....
April 20th, 2015 at 12:55 PM ^
I think it looks good for the recruiting aspect if there's a lot of people there, particularely for the recruits that were in attendance.
April 20th, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
Spring Attendance is strongly correlated with Total Games Won, and while the results are still pending, I'm not optimistic it is.
There is no complete chart as the sources listed in my sig don't all report an estimated attendance total, but here are the ones that do/I found online.
| Year | Attendance | Eventual Rec. |
| 1995 | 8,000 | 9-4 |
| 1996 | Cancelled | 8-4 |
| 1997 | 4,000 | 12-0 |
| 1998 | 25,000 | 10-3 |
| 2008 | 2,500* | 3-9 |
| 2009 | 50,000 | 5-7 |
| 2010 | 35,000 | 7-6 |
| 2011 | 25,000 | 11-2 |
| 2012 | 25,000 | 8-5 |
| 2013 | 18,000 | 7-6 |
| 2014 | 15,000 | 5-7 |
| 2015 | 60,000 |
*2008 spring scrimmage was held at Saline HS due to Big House renovations and was an invite-only event. There was some talk about playing it at Ford Field but judging by what followed that Fall on the field, I can certainly understand why they didn't want people to see the forecast and be sent into DEFCON panic. I can only imagine how bad the offense was.
Obviously you have this information.
Never change, WD, never change.
It matters because if a recruit goes somewhere with 90,000 people and then goes somewhere with 10,000 people it could dampen his enthusiasm for the place. If you look at the top attendance getters and recruiting, they correlate pretty well: Alabama, PSU, Ohio State, Tennessee, Auburn etc. Of course USC and LSU recruit well without big crowds but why not go for it? There's no down side to a big crowd.
A. Chemistry with the coaching staff?
B. Can the staff develop players for the next level?
C. Can the team they join win consistently?
D. Academics
E. Proximity to home
F. Improper benefits
I can't imagine spring game attendance factoring in any decisions.
While I agree with your list, I would put fan involvement/excitement/supprt somewhere on that list as well. A spring game can be a very good gague of fan support, especially to a recruit that may be visiting campus for the first time.
I think recruits care about one other thing that is not on your list....
beat me by mere minutes.
No problem, I will still upvote you.
You had the better pic. Those girls look like they're a lot of fun.
I care that I went and had a great time becuase of my company and the weather.
The only value of spring game attendance is if you are curious what the weather was like that day and don't want to check weather.com.
I think Spring Game Attendance is worth about 14 dollars.
We talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. Practice.
it was a game. Thats why we call it the Spring Game.
It was called the spring game, but really it is a practice/scrimmage.
Unless he changed his name . . . BUT he has been a memeber since 2010. That was before DISCUSS was even a thing. Maybe it was. I was born in 2012 so thats as far as my memory goes.
I've attended 3 of the last 4 years because I get where I need to see some football and also to get up to Michigan for family and friends.
The game itself is seriously boring and awful, honestly. This year was far better than previous years, but it is still pretty useless in all ways except getting the young kids in front of a "home game like" crowd and general practice for all the guys.
All the little things add up in the minds of recruits. You try to eliminate or reduce the disadvantages your program has. If recruits like fountains then by all means put fountains in Schembechler Hall. We're never going to have the weather that USC, Florida, or Texas has so we'll just have to live with that.
What matters to recruits varies considerably from recruit to recruit. We need to stop worrying for no reason at all.
It's not worrying. We'll be fine regardless but why are people on here so against having 100,000 people at our spring game? Imagine how good that would look to recruits vs. if we had about a 80 percent empty stadium after they visited Ohio State's spring game. We're in a battle with Urban Meyer for the next Charles Woodson or Desmond Howard and every little bit helps.
I'm not against it. If we're fine regardless then I don't care if it's 30,000, 50,000, 100,000 or 114,000. If I have the chance to go and it's worth going for (like this year's was) I'll go.
you filthy animal
No it doesn't matter. Stop trying to compare us in literally the most meaningless category to Ohio. For one, Columbus is a much larger city than Ann Arbor and it takes less time for more people to get there. For another the weather was nicer.
+1.
That's what I was thinking of too... that and at the time of this reply, there are 33 comments in a discussion about scrimmage attendance.
Spring game attendance is only important in recruiting in that it gives you an opportunity to show recruits what the atmosphere might be like in the fall without having to wait for it. I'm sure it was impressive as a recruit to go to OSU's game and have 100,000 people in the stands, it probably felt like a game day. Probably not so much at Stanford.
As for anything actually correlating to football success, I doubt it.
If my team's rivals have higher attendance, then it doesn't mean anything.
While spring games may not necessarily "move the needle" for me, they have proven to be an excellent way for a program to get its face on Sportscenter and in the minds of recruits during the off season. I attended the first half of the OSU spring game, which was a sloppy and (other than the halftime competition) rather boring affair. But I didn't go to this expecting a game-like atmosphere and a finished product, I went with my family and encouraged others to go in order to push that attendance number as high as possible for national recognition.
OSU collected 5 verbals over the weekend and sparked interest in dozens of other recruits. The value of the Spring Game cannot be overlooked:
5* Trevon Grimes: Wasn't Able to Make it up to Ohio State for their Spring game ... but Ill still represent them At mine
4* Donnie Corley Jr. was "wowed" by OSU Spring Game. "It was electric. Almost 100,000 fans for a spring game is insane.
4* Marcus Williamson: "[It's] the support the Buckeyes have in Columbus," Williamson added. "Seeing those guys on the field is so special to watch and it makes you want to be a part of it."
4* Danny Clark: "Got my fresh Mad Max cut ready for the Buckeye Spring Game! #FILL THE SHOE!"
It can make or break a season obviously.
How much are mgopoints worth? I can buy things with them?
We have the largest stadium in the country...why are we not trying to break attendance records with everything we can? We already have the records for football attendance and hockey attendance.
The fact is the athletic department really never gave much of a shit about the spring game for the longest time. When they finally did in Rich Rod's second year people came even after the crappy 3-9 season.
They kind of half assed it this year I think and look how many showed up just to watch a Harbaugh coached team.
Next year they should be striving to break this year's record.
for a game that was also their official visit would make a larger impression.
IT MATTERS
You again
You should be a mod. You're on top of this. This guy has no life.
It's just so sad and pathetic
You have a life. I meant the troll has no life. I apologize for any confusion there. How do you know I am a Troll? Maybe there are many trolls and I'm just new? Am I a troll because I have less than 10 points? That seems unfair.
No, you're a troll because... well, I don't know why you're a troll. Why are you a troll? What do you get from these exchanges? Is it life affirming for you?