The LSU athletics fanbase is an imbalanced scale, especially among students.
On one end, there is football. An average of over 100,000 fans packed Tiger Stadium for every home game this season. On the other end, sports like soccer, beach volleyball and swim and dive have some of the lowest home attendance records in the entire SEC.
Many of LSU’s smaller athletic programs struggle with a common issue – a home crowd.
The average attendance for a soccer home game this season was 662. That’s only about 1.79% of the student population, not including fans and alumni who do attend.
Despite LSU’s larger student population size, attendance remains underwhelming.
With no shortage of students or fans, why are other sports at LSU left out to dry? Students gave their input, but the answer varies.
Madison Voisin, a biology sophomore, is a regular at LSU football games. While football is the most popular sport in America, she believes what sets LSU apart is its culture.
“I like how when you go to an LSU football game, everybody’s friends with everybody,” said Voisin.
Nothing unites students like football season. At LSU, no other sport produces campus-wide tailgates that last all day and parties that last all night.
Although a football lover, Voisin’s favorite event isn’t in Tiger Stadium. LSU gymnastics was the one that captured her heart long ago.
“I have been going since I was little,” Voisin said. “I think it’s a very engaging sport, and LSU makes gymnastics unique in a way that no other college does. Not that many other colleges give so much attention to their gymnastics program.”
Earlier this year, Voisin finally got to see the team win their first national championship, and with a growing program comes a growing fanbase.
“It’s family-friendly and for everybody, and usually the student section is full. They make it fun for aspiring young girls, and they make it fun for college students.”
LSU marketing has been hard at work, promoting and designing a more interactive game experience for fans. Students are sent texts and emails with everything they need to know about upcoming events and incentives like free food or apparel.
Games such as white-outs in the PMAC have become especially popular among students. Complimentary white shirts cover 13,000 seats, making for a one-of-a-kind atmosphere and scoring big with student attendance.
Many sports, though, are not on the same playing field.
Biochemistry sophomore Julie Cabirac thinks smaller sports are too underfunded to compete.
“For me to get excited about other sports the way I do with football, it would take a higher budget: more promotion on social media, more incentives, and even tailgating,” Cabirac said.
Online advertising has become another major factor in attracting students to events. Graphics, hype videos and other forms of content are all a part of new-age marketing for college athletics.
Better promotion is just the half of it. All of those free t-shirts and Instagram posts will mean nothing to students if there is constantly no return on investment for their time.
Simply, students want to see their team win – a strong team creates a strong fanbase.
Voisin, like many other students, has little time on her weekdays to commit to events that can run hours long, so picking and choosing which to attend can come down to a simple factor: is LSU going to win?
“The marketing budget is one thing, but better coaches, staff and players matters because whenever a team does well, the fans support them,” said Voisin.
Great players can be another driving element in attendance, with famous names bringing attention to all kinds of sports.
LSU has been turning athletes into celebrities for decades, and now easier than ever to become a star with the impact of social media and NIL. Today, names like Livvy Dunne, Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson attract new audiences for women’s basketball and gymnastics.
Though often not championship-winning teams, some smaller programs still have a variety of great players and coaches yet fall short of the infamous LSU home crowd experience, not only affecting the teams but sometimes the outcome of events as well.
This fall, LSU soccer won three out of eight home games, while the football team won six out of seven or 85.7% of their home games.
The University of Tennessee has recently established a solution to this problem.
Tennessee’s “Rowdy Rewards” is a system that gives students points for attending campus athletic events. In return, more points earned equals greater odds in the football home game ticket lottery.
Clearly, it is working – Tennessee has roughly the same number of students as LSU, but with now almost double the attendance at home games for non-football sports.
LSU also implemented a similar program called “Priority Points,” but not to the same effect as it only applies for postseason and away games, decreasing incentive.
A college soccer game will never be on the same level as a college football game, but what is the excuse for LSU’s home crowds being dwarfed by schools with just as many or fewer students?
Commonly, students fall victim to the herd mentality. As support for sports like football, basketball and gymnastics only grows, the rest get the short end of the stick.
Voisin and other students gave their best solution: fan involvement. At the end of the day, they just want to feel valued. Creating an emotional connection can be what turns a person into a fan, and where one goes the others will follow.
Next time you have a free evening, think about giving a different sport a chance. Better yet, bring a friend too.
