I think other than the elite programs, attendance is always a bit of an issue. Just a few years ago Nick Saban chastized Alabama's student body for leaving games early and Michigan was trying to literally give away tickets.
You don't have to go back to the 80s or 90s. This was Furman's home attendance in 2004 regular season:
PC: 12,817
WCU: 14,412
Citadel: 14,481
GSU: 17,145
UTC: 11,692
In 2005:
Samford: 13,452
Hofstra: 9,844
GWU: 10,127
App: 14,138
Elon: 11,916
Wofford: 13,764
The 2006 and 2007 seasons were still 11-12k a game. Over the next several years you saw attendance drop slightly at the end of the Lamb years and beginning of Fowler's tenure. By the end of Fowler's time, though, attendance was abysmal. Again, you can only ask so much of a fan base. They aren't going to turn out just to watch bad football.
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