UNM aims to break football attendance trends
Build it and they will come.
Metaphorically speaking.
Hope could be on the horizon on the corner of Avenida Cesar Chavez and University Blvd.
However, a lot still hinges on UNM football finding success like the early 2000s.
Football season is two weeks away and the UNM Athletic Department is wasting no time trying to fill University Stadium.
UNM has announced that kids 12 and under get free admission into all home games, a significant — and intentional — move made by the football program. University Stadium also received a $1.5 million upgrade to its video board.
“(It’s) old (video) boards living day by day,” Fernando Lovo, UNM athletic director, said.
The last time University Stadium underwent a significant upgrade was over ten years ago. More upgrades are coming and will aim to “improve fan experience.”
Around the country - even just within the Mountain West - investments in football and fan experiences are taking center stage. There is much more focus (and pressure) being placed on football success to keep programs relevant in conference realignment and media deals.
It wouldn't be fair to expect UNM Football to complete a turnaround in its first year under Jason Eck. There is a different feel around Albuquerque towards Lobo football compared to the last decade or two.
There’s more enthusiasm, engagement and hope that Lobo football may be looking ahead to brighter days.
However, there is still plenty of skepticism to go along with it.
And rightfully so, the last winning season was when Bob Davie was at the helm in 2016. UNM finished 9-4 (6-2 MWC) and won the New Mexico Bowl 23-20 over UTSA.
Since then, UNM hasn’t won more than five games in a season until last year, when one-and-done Bronco Mendenhall accomplished that. In most seasons between 2016 and now, UNM has only crested four wins once (Danny Gonzales in 2023).
Not only has winning become an issue, but so has attendance, and they’re directly influential of each other.
Last season, UNM had a real shot at making a bowl game and had momentum heading into the final stretch.
With Wyoming visiting Albuquerque midway through the season, University Stadium had an announced attendance of 15,046 fans (max capacity is 39,224).
Photo and video evidence says differently. The stadium was half full.
In comparison, when UNM played games on the road, the average attendance was 34,000 or more. That is more than double UNM’s home field advantage - or disadvantage.
UNM’s 2024 home attendance averaged around 16,000 fans per game, just enough to not be last in the MWC. Hawaii was at 11,250 with a minor stadium.
Last season, attendance and ticket sales seemed bleak. It doesn’t even begin to paint the complete picture of what the program has been through in the previous two decades.
When Rocky Long last courted the sidelines in 2008, the state of the program was arguably in the best position it’s been in its history.
From 2000 to 2008, the average home attendance neared 33,000 at University Stadium and even surpassed 40,000 a few times:
2005: 44,760 (NMSU) Rivalry sellout - *University Stadium Record
2001: 41,771 (UTEP)
2004: 40,182 (Utah) Urban Meyer and MWC title implications.
2005: 39,234 (BYU)
2004: 38,746 (Texas Tech)
How did University Stadium go from being nearly full with an engaged fan base to an empty stadium?
There’s no simple answer.
There are several contributing factors, including prolonged losing, coaching instability, poor coaching hires and a lack of intentional fan and student engagement. Sprinkle in a resource gap and outdated facilities.
UNM lost its identity and its brand.
Following the resignation of Rocky Long, the program embarked on a long, uninspiring path of decline.
Not only did the team struggle on the field, but they also frequently found themselves on the wrong side of national headlines.
Mike Locksley Era
During the two seasons Mike Locksley was the head coach, UNM went 2-26 and did not live up to his infamous statement that UNM “would need to hang triple digits on the scoreboard.”
Instead, Locksley was on the news multiple times for off-field incidents. Once, for reportedly punching an assistant coach, a verbal altercation he got into at a bar with a reporter, and a friend of Locksley's son was arrested for driving drunk nearby University Stadium before a football game in a Ford SUV registered to the Locksley family.
During that two-year stint, UNM football’s ticket sales plummeted. According to UNM’s financial statements, the football program saw its revenue from ticket sales go from $2,239,983 in 2009 to 1,336,662 in 2012, nearly a $1 million falloff from the bottom line.
Locksley's tenure was short-lived but was as damaging as one could have ever imagined.
Bob Davie Era
Bob Davie was hired in hopes of reviving the program that had fallen into disarray.
Davie brought the notoriety of having coached on a national level at Notre Dame. His name alone carried more weight than your average college coach.
Davie oversaw the UNM football program for eight seasons. Although UNM had some success on the field (2016 New Mexico Bowl Champions), ticket sales never recovered, but only stabilized.
Between the 2012-15 early Davie era, University Stadium drew an average crowd of 24,000, resulting in ticket revenue of around $1.5 million per year.
Following the New Mexico Bowl victory in 2016, UNM only won a total of eight games in the next three seasons and only won two in Mountain West Conference play (2017-2019).
And then it got worse.
Allegations surfaced that Davie mistreated players, used racial slurs and obstructed a UNM player’s rape investigation.
Not only did the on-field product deteriorate, but the program also continued to lose connection with the UNM fan base, leading to a decline in interest. Revenue from ticket sales stumbled once again.
By the time Davie was let go of his coaching duties in 2019, average home attendance fell to an average of 15,000 and ticket revenue hit under $1 million ($949,150).
Sprinkle in the COVID seasons and a few years of Danny Gonzales’ spirited effort to gain back a disassociated fan base, and here we are.
Photo: Erik Moulton/The Pit Press
A Place to Call Home
If the administration wants to get more fans at the games, it’s going to take a lot more than a video board to make that happen.
And like the old adage goes: the best time to start investing was 20 years ago, but the second best time is now.
Additional stadium renovations are underway to promote a better fan experience, with accessibility and flexible ticket plans also being part of the rollout.
But underneath the material, the one thing Albuquerque needs is to feel connected to UNM football again.
With initiatives like kids 12 and under can now attend games for free or cheaper concession items.
The affinity for Lobo basketball extends across the street to The Pit. The same fan base that football is trying to appeal to.
Pride needs to re-emerge from hibernation.
It’s all there.
Eck and Lovo are hitting the pavement trying to re-engage the community and tell their story. Will their plan jumpstart Lobo football? Time will tell.
The building has just begun.
