Matchups, economy bring down bowl attendance

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Bowl attendance was down 2.1 percent this season through the first 31 games of the 35-game postseason.

Bowl officials point toward a down economy as the reason for the dip in fans attending games, but the luck of the draw also plays heavily into how well a postseason game does.

The Hawaii Bowl had its attendance drop by about 22,000 mostly because Hawaii didn't make it back to the game this season.

The Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., had a drop of about 14,000 from last season's game, which matched up Tennessee and North Carolina, compared to this season's Mississippi State-Wake Forest game.

On the plus-side was The Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, which had an increase of 14,000 at Ford Field in Detroit to see Western Michigan play Purdue.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-07-FBC-Bowl-Attendance/id-f707c1b5eb4b4ee2bc3e5f216ba64caf

clemson nick cannon pellet gun zambrano clay aiken orange bowl jonbenet ramsey