Attendance milestone reached at Homecoming game

This was the first time in 25 years more than 71,000 attended a game.

By Maggie Nestor

Published Oct. 27, 2009

As the Texas Longhorns put big numbers on the scoreboard, MU fans put a big number up for attendance Saturday, filling the 71,004-seat Memorial Stadium to capacity.

According to an athletics department news release, the game marked the 10th time in MU's history and the first time in more than 25 years that a crowd of more than 71,000 attended a game at Memorial Stadium.

"The last time a crowd of that size saw a game in Columbia was back in 1983, when 72,348 saw the Tigers take on Nebraska," the news release said.

The all-time Memorial Stadium record crowd was set in 1980, when 75,298 fans saw MU host Penn State. According to the news release, the attendance record the athletics department aimed to beat Saturday was 70,049, set in 2007 when the Tigers beat Nebraska 41-6.

The news release also stated all 71,004 tickets for Saturday's game were sold in advance for the first time this season.

"MU has averaged 64,281 for attendance in its previous three home contests in 2009, including a season-best of 65,826 in a downpour of biblical proportions on Oct. 8 against Nebraska," the news release stated.

Athletics department spokesman Chad Moller said efforts to resolve seating and ticketing issues at football games have improved with each home game.

"Things went really smoothly," Moller said. "We have been able to improve the process every time and there were no major problems."

Student seating also went according to plan, despite the record attendance numbers, Tiger's Lair Executive Director Brad Fischer said.

"Tiger's Lair did not have too many issues," he said.

Fischer said Memorial Stadium's staff and ushers handled the large attendance well.

"The event staff did a great job keeping non-Tiger's Lair members out of the section," Fischer said. "Of course it was crowded, but you have to expect that at a big game."

Despite this, some students, including sophomore Meghan Wilson, said getting into Tiger's Lair was a challenge.

"We got there a little before the game started and Tiger's Lair was too crowded to they sent us all the way down to section AA, where we weren't anywhere near Tiger's Lair," Meghan Wilson said.

Fischer said he was unaware of any problems regarding students accessing Tiger's Lair.