The date Nov. 8, 2008, is in the record books as the largest LSU home football crowd ever recorded.Midway through the game, the announcement was made that 93,039 were packed into Tiger Stadium to watch Alabama coach Nick Saban make his not-so-welcome return to Baton Rouge.But actual attendance data released by LSU ticket manager Brian Broussard shows a very different number — 86,766. The figure does not include the visiting band and could be affected by a 1 percent margin of error because of ticket scanning malfunctions, Broussard said.The number still falls short of last season’s Florida game, with an 88,811 actual attendance, and the Virginia Tech game, with an 88,277 actual attendance. The 93,039 figure announced Nov. 8 in Tiger Stadium is the total number of tickets sold and distributed, plus the assembled press, working staff and any tickets that may have been returned from the opponent.LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva examined attendance trends for the season and expressed some disappointment in what he observed.”My biggest surprise is probably the fans, from a positive and a negative standpoint,” he said. “I think we have absolutely great fans. We have tremendous fans. But I was disappointed with the fact that our fans sometimes booed our players and left games early sometimes or didn’t come to games.”The most poorly attended game of the season was the Nov. 15 game against Troy. The actual attendance was 58,125, with only 66 percent of general public ticket holders present. The student section numbers were significantly lower than the general admission statistics. Just 47 percent of student ticket holders attended the game, which equates to 6,701 no-shows.The student data only includes the number of reserved and general admission no-shows and does not account for unused student-athlete or guest tickets. More general admission fans and students attended the 10 a.m. Appalachian State game than the Troy game, despite the early start time because of Hurricane Gustav’s projected path.Data shows the actual attendance was 61,679, with 67 percent of general fans and 69 percent of students present.Alleva said he was disappointed about the number of student no-shows, which averaged 3,673 on the season. Data from the 2007 season shows an average of 2,238 no-shows. The 2008 average is still a better student showing than 2006 and 2005, when the no-shows averaged 4,440 and 4,095, respectively.The percentage of students in attendance trailed the percentage of general fans in attendance for all games except Appalachian State and North Texas.As he flipped through attendance data sheets, Alleva pointed at the 1,800 student no-shows at the Georgia game and 1,750 no-shows at the Alabama contest. Only 86 percent of the student section was filled for Alabama, compared to 95 percent of the general public seating.”It’s amazing. These are huge games,” he said. “We could have gotten another 1,800 students. I don’t know. Where are they? Come. Support these guys.”Alleva said he will explore potentially taking away student tickets and selling more general admission seats.”I think we have to. I’m looking at it. Those are an average of over 3,000 people that we could have put in there if students don’t want to come,” he said. “It’s my responsibility to have a full stadium and get as many people in there to support the kids.”Some students described the Alabama game as a packed student section, with some students sitting on the steps because of a lack of room.But Alleva said the section was not close to its capacity.”I don’t know how wide a seat is, maybe 18 inches,” he said. “But what happens is people take up 30 inches. They spread out. They don’t get close together like they really could. If everyone sat in a seat instead of standing up and spreading out, we could obviously get that many more people in.”Student Government President Colorado Robertson said he opposes any efforts to take away student seating and would lobby to change Alleva’s mind.”I was disappointed to see that just 47 percent of our students attend[ed] the Troy game,” Robertson said. “But there are ways to get students to attend. We’ll be re-addressing the policies in the spring.”Robertson said he would consider sending out student surveys to gain more input. Alleva said any potential change would be further discussed in late spring or early summer.—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]