LAFAYETTE (KATC) — One look around the CajunField Saturday made you wonder, where are all the fans?
Louisiana’s 17,068 fans in attendance Saturday was the smallest home crowd this season. While that number is still about 1,500 higher than last season’s average the number is still disappointing for a program with a first year head coach. In Mark Hudspeth’s first season Louisiana averaged more than 29,000 fans according to the NCAA’s official attendance report.
There are a hundred reasons for why fans haven’t attended. Games can be streamed at home, cost of tickets, food and drink, parking. But in his midweek week press conference head coach Billy Napier took the topic head on. He spoke for several minutes highlighting a number of factors why fans aren’t attending, including his team’s performance.
“I’m not going to sit around and complain when we laid an egg against Coastal Carolina at home,” he said speaking about Louisiana’s 30-28 loss earlier this year. “We played on national TV twice and put an embarrassing product out there. If we hold our own against Mississippi State or play halfway decent against Alabama, beat Coastal Carolina, I promise you they show up.”
Louisiana plays at Troy Saturday before returning home November 10 to face Georgia State.
