Brent Brennan discusses how to create excitement for Arizona home games

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan went in depth about the process of how Arizona can create an environment for home games similar to what the Wildcats experienced in their last three home games at Kansas State, Utah and BYU. Arizona's homecoming game versus Colorado on Saturday is sold out.

Arizona has averaged 46,089 this season. The capacity at Arizona Stadium is 50,782. Arizona drew 47.746 for its biggest crowd of the season versus Northern Arizona in week two. The biggest crowd in Arizona Stadium history was 59,920 versus undefeated Arizona State in 1996.

Four of the top seven biggest crowds in Arizona history were against Arizona State. The inability to sustain success in football has created apathy for Arizona football fans. Kansas State had an attendance of 51,290 versus Arizona, Utah had 52,898 and BYU drew 64,420.

Arizona has the eighth-largest football stadium in the Big XII. That puts them right in the middle of the conference. BYU has the largest stadium in the Big XII at 63,470, Kansas State is 10th at 50,000 and Utah is seventh at 51,444. With similar capacities, Kansas State and Utah present good blueprints for Arizona to build home game experiences.

"I think everyone's working hard at creating a really good game day here at Arizona Stadium...The biggest thing is...when we have been on the road at the last three games those have been completely sold-out games...It was amazing when we were in Manhattan, Kansas, they canceled school that Friday for a Friday night game. People are excited for the football game, which was cool...For all of us to see those environments. because everything in football is stolen and borrowed...If people have good ideas for their game day environment that we think would enhance people's experience here then we want to adopt some of those things.""

- Arizona head coach Brent Brennan

It takes a collaborative effort to build a game-day experience to get the fanbase excited. That starts with Brennan and Desireé Reed-Francois. Reed-Francois came from Missouri. The Tigers averaged 60,169 per football game in 2023. Missouri had a 10.35 percent increase in average attendance over 2022.

Arizona averaged 47,320 fans per game in 2023. The Wildcats had a 7.04 percent increase in attendance over 2022. Most of that was improving from a 5-7 record in 2022 to 10-3 in 2023. Arizona has attempted to create game-day experiences. That includes Wildcat Walk before the game.

This weekend will have more extensive activities surrounding homecoming. Arizona fans are encouraged to wear for the homecoming game versus Colorado. Uniting fans wearing all red and the whiteout games helps to create the atmospheres Brennan discussed.

The loss to Texas Tech two weeks ago ended a five game Arizona home winning streak. Arizona last lost at home 31-24 to Washington on September 30, 2023. Arizona won their final three 2023 home game and opened the 2024 season with wins over New Mexico and Northern Arizona.

After Colorado on Saturday, Arizona has home games remaining versus West Virginia on October 26, Houston on November 15 and Arizona State on November 30 to finish the 2024 season. Building a difficult home environment for opponents is one of the foundations for every college football program.