Pelphrey Must Overcome Fan Apathy In Fayetteville

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Calling into talk radio shows won’t get it done.  Writing nasty things on messageboards won’t get it done, either.  Ditto spreading ugly lies and rumors.

No, if you want to force a coaching change at your school just stop going to games.  Nothing impacts a school’s decision-making like fan apathy.  Fan apathy hits a school right in the bottom line.

With that in mind, John Pelphrey is facing an uphill battle at Arkansas.  Once a basketball-crazy fanbase, now Razorback fans reserve their hog hats for football games.  Through their first two games this season, Pelphrey’s team has drawn just 6,000 fans per game. 

Matt Jones of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette puts that in perspective: “By comparison, the Arkansas baseball team drew an average of 5,400 in its first two games of last year.”  Not good. 

Jones discusses the issues that might be playing a role in Arkansas’ attendance woes right here.  There are many. 

Now maybe some wins will generate more fan interest.  Maybe a toughening schedule will help.  And football won’t last much longer, either.

But for Pelphrey, all those empty seats are something to pay attention to.  Next year he has one of the nation’s top recruiting classes coming to Fayetteville.  Question is: How many fans will be at Bud Walton Arena to greet them?