The spring game was more than just a yearly ritual for fans. But while some programs struggle to fill seats, others prove that the tradition is very much alive. The contrast is sharp, as Colorado and Alabama saw major drop-offs in attendance, yet Ohio State’s numbers ticked up. It’s no longer a universal college holiday, but a mixed bag depending heavily on local fan culture.
College football finished its spring games, and many teams returned to the usual format. Teams tried to bring fans back to stadiums, even though attendance dropped for some teams. First up is Ohio State, which had 40,240 fans, slightly more than last year’s 40,136. While slightly up from last year, these numbers are a far cry from the 80,000-plus crowds the Buckeyes used to draw.
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Then there’s Georgia, which had 31,012 fans, the lowest under coach Kirby Smart after COVID-19. Some of their stadium sections were empty because of reasons like hot weather and other events in Athens, like the annual Twilight bike race or the middle school Science Olympiad state competition, which also affected the size of the crowd. Also, spring games are becoming less important, so fewer people feel the need to attend.
Even Colorado showed a big drop in attendance over time. In 2023, about 47,277 fans came. This number fell to 28,424 in 2024, then 20,430 in 2025, and only 17,500 in 2026. Some teams still saw strong crowds. Oklahoma returned to a normal spring game and had 31,407 fans. Clemson also had a good turnout, with around 25,000 fans.
Then, it was Alabama, which also saw a major dip from before. They once had over 72,000 fans in 2024, but later dropped to about 10,000 to 15,000 when the event was more like practice than a real game. Even Auburn had 34,276 fans at its spring game, giving them a chance to watch the team closely. Even the Oklahoma State Cowboys just recorded 13,000 fans at the Spring Game at Boone Pickens Stadium.
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The teams tried their best to give fans the traditional experience they’ve been missing since last year. After recent format changes, fan enthusiasm hasn’t fully bounced back. While crowds still show up, the urgency to attend has clearly faded.
Deion Sanders expresses his dissatisfaction with the spring game
The spring game is losing its spark, and every coach can see it. That’s exactly what Deion Sanders has observed and expressed after hosting Colorado’s spring game.
“That’s not just us; no one’s valuing spring anymore,” Deion Sanders said. “You’ve got several major colleges not even having spring games. The only thing that would bring that back is if we compete against another school, and I’ve been saying that for the last several years.”
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Now, not hosting spring games can affect a program in various ways, and there are things to take good care of, such as players’ safety. Teams are worried about losing their top players to injury and end up losing them for half of the season, something that happened to Syracuse in their spring game, as they lost their wide receiver Calvin Russell to a torn Achilles tendon in the spring practice.
So, it’s pretty clear that no team wants such things for its players. But despite that, teams are trying to bring back the culture of the spring game, and there are many teams that even hosted it this season. But does it really hold the power it used to before? The coaches opt for more closed practices to make sure no one can see their players perform or their schemes.
This way, fans are just missing out on the experience of enjoying the best part of their offseason. So now, with so many changes aligning, college football is not the same anymore. With that change, it will be interesting to see how things shape up in the future and how teams take forward the spring game tradition.
