The Numbers Game

Ever sit in the half-empty stands at 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium and shake your head in wonder when an announced "attendance" of more than 30,000 doesn’t pass the eyeball test at a University of Hawaii football game?

Chances are, your eyes didn’t deceive you.

For example, according to figures from an independent auditor certified by UH in a report to the NCAA last month, actual attendance at the Nov. 24, 2012, game against Nevada-Las Vegas differed by 8,127 from the announced tickets distributed "attendance" count that night and 1,838 from the turnstile "attendance" listing.

The tickets distributed number that night was 28,359. The announced turnstile figure was 22,070. The auditor’s report, which was presented to a UH Board of Regents committee Thursday, said actual attendance was 20,232.

A UH spokesman said the reason for the wide range was due to different accounting methods and purposes. For NCAA certification purposes UH may count band members but not concessionaires, ticket takers, parking lot attendants, ushers or groundskeepers. Meanwhile, tickets distributed takes into account all tickets that have been disbursed, whether sold or given away, used or not. Turnstile is the number of attendees including workers, media, performers and others.

By whichever method, the 2012 season was a downer for the 3-9 Warriors. UH’s actual attendance average of 23,327 was down 26 percent from 2010, according to audited figures, UH said. The turnstile (25,573) and tickets distributed (30,031) averages were the smallest since the 0-12 season of 1998.

Based on audited actual attendance, UH did not have a crowd above 26,870 and the smallest was South Alabama at 19,616, numbers that seemed to surprise the regents.

"Hopefully we can bring that up," said James Lee, chairman of the regents’ Committee on University Audits. "Last year was a tough year, but I’m confident we can have a better year (in 2013) and the fans will come out."

Based on tickets distributed figures reported to the NCAA, UH (30,031) ranked fifth among the 10 Mountain West Conference schools in average attendance in 2012.

New UH athletic director Ben Jay said, "Going forward, I’m hopeful right now that the good news of the great recruiting class will have our fans excited and hopeful for the coming season." Jay said, "We’re looking ahead trying to make improvements in all areas that we can."

Jay said he is talking to marketing staff, Aloha Stadium officials and student groups in reviewing UH’s efforts.

Ultimately, however, Jay said, "when it comes right down to it, they (the fans) are going to come when you win. And, so, we’re going to do everything we can to help (coach Norm Chow) and the team win."

UH announces both turnstile and tickets distributed figures for most ticketed sports. Men’s basketball is an exception, with coach Gib Arnold having mandated from his first season that only the tickets distributed figure be provided so as to give potential recruits a more positive picture of the program.

The Star-Advertiser lists turnstile attendance when available; when it is not, reporters estimate the crowd size.

For football games, UH has used all three figures, announcing the turnstile and tickets distributed to the media at the end of the game and submitting the tickets distributed figure to the NCAA for the weekly statistical report.

For the UNLV game, the figure of 20,232, as certified by Accuity LLP, was contained in the annual actual attendance summary required by NCAA bylaw and submitted by Jay to the NCAA on Jan. 17.

The NCAA requires attendance figures verified through audit in assessing a school’s standing. For example, Football Bowl Subdivision members, such as UH, are required to average at least 15,000 per game once every two years on a rolling basis to retain that standing.

By that measure, UH averaged 23,327 in 2012, according to the document submitted to the NCAA. Meanwhile, the average tickets distributed figure UH employed for NCAA statistics was 30,031 and the average turnstile count provided to media was 25,573.

Jay, who began work at Hawaii in January after coming from Ohio State, where he had been a senior associate AD, said he will review UH’s attendance announcement policies. He said Buckeyes football counted people working on game day whether they were on the field or not. Ohio State (105,330) was second in the nation to Michigan (112,252) in average (tickets distributed) for 2012, according to an NCAA report.