Georgia State football pushes for larger crowds with $5 tickets
Other than winning games, the most difficult aspect of building a football program at Georgia State has been the inability to consistently draw fans, a subject the new regime is taking seriously.
That’s why this week’s game against nonconference opponent Murray State has been designated as “Sellout Saturday.” All tickets for the game are $5, and season-ticket holders have been given four free tickets each to distribute to their friends.
Kickoff for Saturday’s game is 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN Plus and heard locally on WRAS-FM 88.5 and the Georgia State sports app.
The idea is to interject some life into Center Parc Stadium, which seats 25,000 for football but rarely is more than half-filled. Last week, GSU drew 13,625 for the home opener against Memphis.
“I was very encouraged and very pleased with the support from our students and faculty, and hopefully we’ll have a big crowd this week and continue that trend of getting our students to the game,” Georgia State coach Dell McGee said. “It’s more about their experience as a college student. It’s the experience of doing those things and living those moments and creating memories that you can’t create anywhere else but in a football game.”
According to data compiled by D1Ticker.com, Georgia State’s average attendance last season was 14,431 — down from 15,594 the previous season when the Panthers went to the Potato Bowl.
By comparison, rival Georgia Southern averaged 22,516 in 2024, up from 21,480 in 2023. Seven teams in the Sun Belt Conference averaged 20,000-plus fans in 2024. Kennesaw State, which plays in Conference USA, averaged 9,012 per game at Fifth Third Stadium, which seats 10,200.
This season, the Georgia State student section is sitting in the permanent seats erected in the area that was a portion of the outfield when the Braves played at Turner Field, before it was converted to Center Parc Stadium. The seats are closer to the field and behind the opposition’s bench. Most of the visiting fans have been moved to the south end zone.
“It’s one thing to have a crowd, and the next step is to learn how to interact and when you need to be loud and gamesmanship of being a true fan and creating an environment where our kids feel the energy and the opposing team feels the energy as well, where it’s a distraction to them,” McGee said.
McGee has made several trips to the campus to meet faculty and students to gin up support. Last week, he showed up at the dining hall to deepen connections with the students.
“I’m just trying to feel them out and encourage them to get their tickets to the game,” McGee said. “Free transportation is provided to our students, so there’s no reason not to come.”
Starting guard Deandre Duffus is one of the players who has made campus appearances to encourage students to attend.
“A lot of students didn’t even know the tickets were free,” Duffus said. “That’s one reason they weren’t coming out. We’re just letting them know we appreciate them for coming. Their support goes a long way.”
Georgia State is banged up going into the game against Murray State (0-2). Defensive backs Jordan Huff and Deuce Lewis, Duffus and quarterback TJ Finley all were ailing, and defensive end Sir Mells is out.
“Our whole season is ahead of us, so our main focus is getting better this week and developing our entire roster,” McGee said. “We’ve been getting a lot of reps with a lot of guys because of injuries, but also because we need to develop those other guys for the long run. They’ve accepted that challenge.”
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
