Look: Crowd shots, attendance numbers for every SEC spring game
Seven SEC teams held spring games this weekend, and despite excellent weather, the games drew mixed results as far as attendance.
It appears that Ohio State won the day with 100,000 fans, though Nebraska (72,000), Penn State (65,000) and Clemson (50,000) all had big crowds in non-SEC games.
Georgia, of course, managed to sell out Sanford Stadium.
Attendance at 2016 SEC spring games
School | Attendance |
---|---|
Georgia | 93,000 |
Alabama | 76,212 |
Tennessee | 67,027 |
Florida | 46,000 |
Auburn | 45,723 |
South Carolina | 32,916 |
Kentucky | 28,441 |
Texas A&M | 27,412 |
Missouri | 24,473 |
LSU | 21,000 |
Mississippi State | 15,717 |
Vanderbilt | Est. 3,500 |
For comparison purposes, here’s a look at the spring game attendance numbers in the SEC in 2015 and 2014 as well as the spring game attendance record for all 14 teams.
Also, here are some shots of all 12 crowds.
Alabama
The national championship seems to have boosted the Tide’s spring game attendance. Saturday’s crowd was the largest since ’13, when Bama was coming off back-to-back national titles. So much for the theory that Alabama fans are getting bored with winning.
https://twitter.com/DanielSAshford/status/721420666117955584
Georgia
It seemed almost comical how much the Bulldogs poured into marketing the first G-Day game of Kirby Smart. The team’s “call to action” video was well done, but since when is it normal to hype up a spring game like it’s life and death? Then Saturday arrived, and man, was that crowd impressive. Mission accomplished in terms of generating fan interest in this team.
Think Kirby got his #93KDay. pic.twitter.com/4XJvc8be1F
— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) April 16, 2016
Kirby Smart challenged #DawgNation to pack 93,000 in Sanford.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! #93KDay pic.twitter.com/4VnvkMDWkd
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 16, 2016
Kentucky
We all suspect that most teams fudge on their spring attendance numbers, and UK is one of those under deep suspicion. Still, the Wildcats ranked ahead of several teams in terms of the spring game crowd.
Solid crowd gathering for UK's spring game Cat Walk. pic.twitter.com/6IPhoBuruE
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) April 16, 2016
LSU
For being such a renowned football crowd during the season, Tigers fans annually rank near the bottom of spring football attendance. Maybe Cajuns just have a refined taste for what is an event (a real SEC football game) vs. what is fairly trivial (a spring football practice).
There are people here … Unless those are prison inmates on a field trip. pic.twitter.com/aaApzSf94O
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 16, 2016
Mississippi State
Outside of Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs crowd has been the smallest SEC group of the spring by far. There’s a core group of Mississippi State fans that are as passionate and knowledgable as any in the SEC, but the team may have a tough time getting the fringe type fans excited about this coming season.
Excited to watch some former Wolves at the Maroon and White Spring Game! Go Dawgs! #Wolfpackfam pic.twitter.com/231j5Pdwm2
— Co-Lin Recruiter (@CoLinRecruiter) April 16, 2016
Missouri
The Tigers didn’t get the typical spring attendance boost provided by first-year head coaches. Attendance fell by more than 5,000 from last year’s game. But to be fair, that team was coming off back-to-back SEC East titles.
Here's the #Mizzou Spring Game crowd just before kickoff on a gorgeous spring day. pic.twitter.com/3Gh4rPTm94
— KTGR Big Show (@KTGRBigShow) April 16, 2016
Tennessee
Vols fans are stoked for the ’16 season, and it showed Saturday with a strong spring attendance. The photo below isn’t a great depiction as it was taken a decent interval before kickoff. But nonetheless, Tennessee boasted the largest spring crowd outside of Georgia and Alabama — far outdoing SEC East rival Florida, though the Gators held their game on a Friday night.
Crowd update…a little under 30 minutes before kickoff pic.twitter.com/EZiweVkJ0y
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) April 16, 2016
Florida
Attendance last year was low — 21,000 — but the Gators were so thin at offensive line that the team couldn’t hold a traditional scrimmage. This year, Florida fans seemed excited to see a quarterback not named Treon Harris throwing passes — or maybe the big draw was placekicker Eddy Piniero.
A solid crowd is on hand for the #OBDebut #Gators pic.twitter.com/hpKVEkKKju
— Josh LaSelva (@JoshLaSelva) April 9, 2016
Auburn
Despite a gorgeous weather day and the school account trying to tout its large crowd, this was the lowest spring game attendance of the Gus Malzahn era, down a huge amount from the 62,143 it drew last year.
Thank you for the support #Auburn Family! #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/XX0j18scZ5
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) April 9, 2016
South Carolina
Will Muschamp managed to get 10,000 extra fans in the stands as opposed to the ’15 numbers. Generally, first-year head coaches draw the biggest crowds, as fans want a glimpse at what’s new.
It's a beautiful day to be back at Williams-Brice #SpursUp #Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/8LL7eEEWPC
— Gamecock Athletics (@GamecocksOnline) April 9, 2016
Texas A&M
The Aggies saw a significant decline in spring game numbers from 2013 — the last time Texas A&M staged a spring game. Kyle Field renovations scrapped the game in ’14 and ’15.
If you’re going to watch football in April, might as well do it in the nicest stadium in America. pic.twitter.com/CB85Z8intY
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) April 9, 2016
Vanderbilt
The Commodores did not release an official spring attendance number, perhaps to avoid being a punch line. That doesn’t appear to have worked.
Vandy did beat Florida with the “Friday Night Lights” idea, and again was one of the first schools in the country to stage a spring game.
An aerial look at the crowd for the Vandy spring game as players took the field. Everyone on one side. pic.twitter.com/adMkPHStfA
— Nick Cole (@NickColeSports) March 25, 2016
27 people in attendance for #Vandy spring game. https://t.co/egMfbee4ek
— Vol Bundy (@BundyFromPolk) March 26, 2016
Totally agree. Vandy fans should brag about low spring game attendance. They are the smart ones on this. https://t.co/CR8FggnaB4
— OutKick Hot Mic (@Outkick360) March 25, 2016