To boost ticket sales this year for Aztecs football games, San Diego State has been using a simple advertising slogan – “Affordable family fun.”
In response, the public has been making a statement of its own: No matter how affordable they may be, the games haven't been fun enough to attend, especially recently.
Season-ticket sales for SDSU football have dropped 28 percent since Chuck Long's first season as head coach in 2006. This year's total of 10,203 (as of Friday) is its lowest figure since at least 2001, the oldest year the Union-Tribune has on record. The 28 percent decline in two years is by far the biggest drop in the Mountain West Conference during that period.
“It's very significant,” said Denny Fallon, who's had season tickets since the 1990s. For the non-renewers, he said, “it's their attempt to get somebody's attention in the athletic department.”
Fallon still renewed his four season tickets this year because he said he didn't want to penalize the players for the program's shortcomings, which include just eight wins in 29 games under Long.
He represents an endangered core of die-hard supporters at SDSU, many of whom are older, longtime buyers who consider Aztecs games to be a family tradition through good and bad.
The trick for SDSU is to attract – and keep – new fans who develop similar Saturday evening habits. SDSU seemed to get some of them in 2006, when Long's hiring ignited new interest in the program. Season ticket sales increased that year to 14,207, up about 1,500 from 2005. But that support has eroded by about 2,000 each year since.
This year, longtime season-ticket buyer Joe Tankersley bought 16 season tickets instead of his usual 20. He usually resells many of them, but he couldn't find as many people interested in buying them this year.
“I don't really care if they lose if they play well,” Tankersley said. “I really get upset when they lose and don't play well, like this year.”
If the team doesn't show something soon, it will get even worse, Tankersley predicts.
“The next time the renewals go out, it may not just be the football team that is the consideration; it may be the economy, too,” he said.
Four other MWC schools have seen their season-ticket sales decline since 2006, but none by more than 1,500. SDSU's sales have declined by 4,000 since then. Meanwhile, Utah has broken season-ticket records all four years under coach Kyle Whittingham. This year, the Utes have sold more than 30,500. BYU has sold about 39,000, not including about 17,000 student sales.
The NCAA requires Football Bowl Subdivision teams to average at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home games on a rolling two-year basis. Last year's average actual attendance at SDSU was 17,868, including three crowds less than 15,000, according to turnstile counts. But because paid attendance is always higher than actual attendance, SDSU is not going to be in danger of losing FBS membership any time soon. Paid attendance figures were not available.
“If we want to have Division I football, we have to buy tickets,” Fallon said. “It's been a very disappointing effort, but I'm still not going to protest by canceling my season tickets. So maybe I'm the big sucker in their eyes.”
The most die-hard of SDSU ticket buyers, Tom Ables, 82, said he's not surprised that others have lost interest in recent years. But he still renewed his 22 tickets this year. He was one of a “handful,” he said, who had season tickets during Paul Governali's years as coach from 1956-60. Governali's record at SDSU was 11-27-4. Governali was succeeded by Don Coryell, whose record was 104-19-2 from 1961-72.
“If you don't have the bad, you can't appreciate the good,” said Ables, who's been to 503 straight Aztecs games, home and away.
For fans like him, Long is grateful.
“I know that we have true-blue Aztec fans who will be there,” said Long, whose team faces Air Force on Saturday at home. “We appreciate them. With the economy the way it is, it's still the best ticket in town.”
Tickets for Saturday's game run as low as $10. Some season-ticket packages were $50 when buying at least four.
SDSU Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel was out of town and unavailable for comment yesterday.
Brent Schrotenboer: (619) 293-1368; brent.schrotenboer@uniontrib.com
