STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Winning certainly helps, and not just on the recruiting trail.
According to figures released by the NCAA, Beaver Stadium's attendance last season -- coming in with an average of 106,707 for the seven-game home slate -- was good enough for third in the nation. That figure, which placed Penn State behind Michigan (111,589/six games) and Ohio State (107,495/seven games) was enough to bump Penn State up four spots from where it was during the 2016-17 season (100,257).
Penn State's average increase of 6,450 during the past season -- remember this goes by tickets sold -- was the fifth-largest average attendance increase among programs last season. Purdue, Akron, Florida Atlantic and New Mexico State -- all programs with certainly more room to grow -- were ahead of Penn State in that category.
The Nittany Lions' average attendance is the program's highest since 2009 (107,008) and the No. 3 ranking nationally is the highest since 2010 (104,234). This comes at a time where the NCAA reported that the FBS overall saw a 3.3 percent decrease in attendance for the fourth consecutive year, yet Penn State saw an increase of 6.6 percent.
While this is certainly good news for Penn State, it also comes at an interesting time for the program as it works on a 20-year facility master plan and continues to ride high after back-to-back New Year's Six games.
The massive Beaver Stadium, commonly referred to as the Erector Set because of the thrown-together look it has from various renovations over the years, is the biggest venue around here. Filling it -- or at least coming close to regularly selling the place out -- has an impact on the rest of the athletic department. Keep in mind Penn State has 31 varsity teams and using the stadium more than a handful of times per year is something athletic director Sandy Barbour has mentioned many times.
Penn State released their massive facility master plan nearly one year ago and while the university won't give an estimated financial figure for the 20-year plan that includes upgrades to many facilities around campus going way beyond just football, that project could have a price tag of $1 billion. That figure was the project value submitted by a construction company in December. The document also estimated the completion date for Dec. 31, 2037.
However, Penn State is still in the feasibility study phase of the project, meaning right now they have a wish list of projects and nothing is set in stone. Originally, Penn State was seeking $120 million to fund the initial five projects, none of which were related to Beaver Stadium.
So, with the biggest cash cow on campus -- the one that plays over in Beaver Stadium -- having success and filling the stadium, this comes at a time when Penn State is still actively looking for people to help donate to this 20 year facility campaign. It's not a stretch to think that people are more inclined to give to a program when it's winning and while the timeline for the facility plan doesn't include any upgrades to Beaver Stadium as part of the first 5-year plan, these figures show that even with all that's lacking in the stadium people are still filling the place. Wifi issues, cramped bleachers and the STEP program aren't turning people away, at least not while they're winning.
While the facility plan will eventually drop the stadium's capacity -- as Penn State works to bring the actual bleacher measurements per seat up to standards and add an unknown number of additional chair backs -- it will still remain above 100,000. The figure given last year was a projected capacity of 103,000. The additional revenue that comes from football fans certainly is coming at a good time given what the athletic administration aims to do with all the projects.
It also is an interesting time for the program to see an uptick in average attendance because national trends suggest that more football fans are staying home for games.
The in-home viewing experience is certainly more cost efficient and many fans argue that they have better views on their big-screen TVs than they would at the venue. Central Pennsylvania isn't the easiest place for fans to get to and as hotel prices skyrocket with many seeking two-night minimums on game weekends, the crowds are still coming.
Perhaps the game-day experience at Beaver Stadium, one with added state of the art video boards within the last 5 years, all-day tailgates and of course winning football helps Penn State not be as impacted by this trend? Maybe some of this is the Saquon Barkley effect as fans sporting No. 26 jerseys wanted to get a look at the future NFL Draft pick?
The attendance boost wasn't the case during the start of the NCAA sanction era here when I wrote a series of stories back in September of 2013 about how concerning the tend of decreased attendance around college football could be for Penn State. How much does winning and being bowl-eligible impact attendance?
Well, the figure I pointed to for the 2013 series included this: Since the start of the 2004 season Penn State had crowds of less than 100,000 at just 14 home games. Eight of those 14 games occurred since the start of the 2012 season. Nothing to play for makes it harder for fans to get behind.
Now, as Penn State finds itself riding high on the other end of the spectrum, it's a matter of trying to sustain these lofty figures that somehow defy college football's troubling trend.