Saturday, August 28, 2021
Fans returned to Memorial Stadium in Champaign today as the Illini took on Nebraska to start both of their 2021 seasons. The crowd had binoculars, sunscreen, football jerseys…. and Covid face masks of all colors and types.
Schools are eager to let football fans back in all over the country. Power Five teams bring in an average of $18.6 million annually from ticket sales in a typical year. That’s according to research by Patrick Rishe. He’s director of the Business of Sports Program at Washington University in St. Louis.
Schools were hit hard with limited attendance last season. The pandemic is still raging but college football is going ahead with mostly full stadiums planned.
LSU is requiring fans attending games at Tiger Stadium who are 12 or older to provide proof of vaccination for COVID 19 or a recent negative test. “Our football team has reached 99.1% vaccination, and we are incredibly proud of them for doing their part to protect their team and their community,” Athletic Director Scott Woodward said. “We are confident our fans will do the same.”
Alabama and Auburn are in a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country and rabid fan bases. Neither have announced stadium screenings or mask requirements.
San Jose State asked fans to show proof of vaccination when they came to their game against Southern Utah today. Unvaccinated fans, or those who can’t prove they’ve been vaccinated, were let in but were required to wear face coverings both indoors and outdoors at the stadium.
Clemson, which has played in four of the past six national title games, estimated a university-wide loss of between $70 million and $135 million due to COVID-19 in the last fiscal year. About a third came from lost athletics revenue, and the vast majority of that came from reduced football ticket sales to ensure proper social distancing.
Oh, and the Illini pulled out a home victory today over the Cornhuskers, 30-22.
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