Why Was The Attendance So Low at This Year’s Husker Spring Game?

Springtime is a renewal - a rebirth if you will, Flowers bloom, grass grows and the naked winter trees come to life with new leaves.

And for Nebraska football fans, the anticipation of getting to see their beloved team play a game is a sort of a rebirth, too.

NU fans don’t care if the game is “just” a scrimmage. They desperately need a football fix and spring games are just what the doctor ordered.

To be sure, spring games are especially important for players looking to advance up the depth chart and for the coaches who are trying to evaluate the players they’ve recruited.

Why are fans attracted to these scrimmages?

Spring games have been and always will be family events. It’s a chance for the average fan who can’t afford season tickets to take his entire family to a Husker football game. Many of those kids grow up to be loyal Husker fans.

So Danny Boy, the Huskers did hold a spring game this year. What’s your complaint?

Let’s take a look at the attendance for Nebraska spring games over the past ten years:

2017 (78,312)

2018 (86,818) Record

Scott Frost’s first year as NU’s head coach

2019 (85,946)

2020 (Covid)

2021 (36,406)

2022 (54,357)

2023 (66,045)

Matt Rhule’s first year at Nebraska

2024 (60,452)

2025 (less than 20,000)

A spring “event” was held.

2026 (27,188)

Yes, Nebraska did hold a spring game this year. But why were there so few people in attendance? What happened to the 80,000 plus attendance figurers of just a few years ago?

There are several reasons for this year’s drop:

1,) The game was held in March 28th

2.) Kickoff time was 11:00 am.

3.) Temps at kickoff were in the 40s with winds gusting out of the north.

4.) There was a running clock for the entire game.

Why the early kickoff time? Supposedly, that was so Husker football fans could hurry over to Hawks Field and Bowlin Stadium after the game to see the Husker baseball and softball teams in action. That made some sense because both programs had been enjoying a lot of success this spring.

Was using a running clock for four quarters of the spring game done to shortening the game so fans could run to those games? If so, since when has Husker football ever taken a back seat to any other sport?

The game was shortened to just about two hours. That means, if you drove to the game from Omaha, you spent more time driving, finding a parking space and
walking to and from the stadium than you did seeing the actual game.

Shortening the game doesn’t make much sense. But one good thing did happen. The University donated some of the proceeds to help the ranchers in western
Nebraska whose land had been scortched by prairie fires earlier this year.

Nice move.

But if one of the goals was to benefit ranchers, why not hold the game when the weather was warmer and move the kickoff later-maybe 1:00 or 2:00? And why
not make sure there are no other conflicting Husker sporting events?

Think of the attendance numbers that could have been this year and the money that could have been raised!

Ways to increase attendace at future Husker spring games:

1.) Hold the games in April.

2.) Kickoffs should be no earlier than 1:00 pm

3.) Don’t schedule other Husker games that day.

4.) Donate part of the proceeds to worthy charities.

5.) Restore the name of the scrimmage as the Red and White Spring Game.

6.) Invite former Husker greats from any sports to attend and be honored.

7.) Aways play tackle football.

8.) Never allow touch football!

And please don’t use a running clock for the entire game-ever That practice is insulting to Husker fans.

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