Isabel Bustos/The Cougar
It is a rare occasion when we get to see TDECU Stadium completely packed. Turnout at UH football games isn’t exactly known for being the best. It looks especially bad when compared with larger Texas schools, such as Texas A&M and UT.
However, comparing UH to other schools isn’t necessarily fair. There are many factors contributing to low attendance at football games.
Between inconvenient game times, expensive parking, construction and an experience that can feel like more trouble than it’s worth, UH is asking fans to overcome a lot just to get inside the stadium.
The fan experience isn’t working
UH administrators, athletic department officials, coaches and players have recently emphasized the need for more fans at games. Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez said the department would place greater emphasis on the fan experience.
Where’s the emphasis, though? As someone who went to most football games last year and both games this year, I haven’t noticed much of a change. The student sections are pretty full; it’s the rest of the stadium that appears to be empty.
When it comes to claims that students aren’t showing up, I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Sure, there could be more, but this also brings up another factor: UH is a commuter school. It’s not always convenient for students to return to campus on weekends.
Additionally, once free student tickets sell out, asking students to pay for admission can make attending even less appealing.
Several games have also started in the morning. This so-called fan experience can start at 8 a.m. on a Saturday. Who wants to get up that early to go sit in the Texas heat for four hours?
On the other hand, games that start later tend to draw a bigger crowd since they allow students to better prepare for the game, enjoy the tailgates and support the team in not-so-scorching conditions.
If students think going to football games is inconvenient, imagine what the Houston community thinks. TDECU Stadium also has an awkward seating setup. Lower-level tickets can get pricey, while the upper-level seating is incredibly steep and angled, making those seats less appealing.
Getting there is half the battle
The journey to get to the stadium is rough as well. Houston traffic is exhausting and ongoing construction at UH makes campus even more difficult to navigate. Fans have to deal with the commute to campus only to arrive to dirt, detours and gated-off construction sites.
Another problem for both students and other attendees is the parking situation. Although prices have decreased since last year, parking fees can still make attending a game unnecessarily expensive.
Even students who pay for a semester parking permit still have to go through the hassle of finding a new lot and proving they have a pass when parking for a game. UH also closes down some of the parking lots, making it even more difficult to find an open spot.
Low attendance doesn’t necessarily mean people don’t support UH or its football team. The problem is that attending a game comes with enough inconveniences to make staying home an easier choice.
UH still struggles to attract the same level of support from the broader Houston community. When UH is compared with SEC programs or other Big 12 schools with packed stadiums, the difference is difficult to ignore. Those games seem so exciting and the energy looks contagious. UH could have that as well, but going to the football games doesn’t feel like it’s worth it.
If UH wants to improve turnout, administrators need to address the factors they can control that make attending games unnecessarily difficult. We have the potential to pack the stadium and it’s happened before. Instead of simply asking fans to show up, UH needs to give the rest of Houston a reason to believe showing up is worth the hassle.
opinion@thedailycougar.com
