SEC Spring Football Game Attendance Dropping League-Wide

The SEC spring football games are not drawing like they have in past seasons, and the Big Ten is showing their muscle even in the preseason.

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Spring football games are a yearly sign that the season is growing ever close. It’s the first time since the previous season’s end that fans gather in their home stadiums to watch their teams play, even if it is in a glorified scrimmage.

The games, and the festivities that surround them, have long been known to be huge draws in the SEC, but so far this season attendance has fallen off, even for schools like Alabama which have traditionally had huge crowds at their spring games.

The announced attendance of 65,175 for Alabama’s A-Day game is by far the lowest number during the Nick Saban era, and places them fourth nationally behind three schools from…

Wait for it…

The Big Ten.

Apr 18, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; A general view of over 100,000 fans attending the Ohio State Spring Game at Ohio Stadium. The Gray team won the game 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

That’s right, Ohio State, Nebraska and Penn State sit atop the Spring Game attendance figures for this year, with Ohio State setting a record with their announced crowd of 99,391 fans. This is a stark contrast from 2014 when the SEC occupied five of the top 10, including three schools in the top five. So far this Spring, the Big Ten holds four of the top 10 spots.

The only two SEC schools who have managed to increase attendance at all are Georgia, who has slightly upped their numbers over the past few seasons, and Missouri, who has seen a huge growth in Spring Football popularity since joining the SEC.

Here’s a look at how SEC schools have drawn for their Spring Football games this season so far.

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Next: Ranking the SEC In-Conference Rivalries

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