UMass Football Program Struggles To Fill Seats At Gillette Stadium

BOSTON (CBS) -- Four years after moving into college football's top level, the University of Massachusetts is waiting to see the transition pay off in the standings, and in the school's budget.

Despite initially projecting that a taxpayer and student-funded subsidy would be dropping by now, figures show the cost has actually increased by $2 million.

Part of the new era brought games at the home of the New England Patriots. However, more often than not, Gillette Stadium has sounded like an echo chamber, displaying far more empty seats than fans.

According to the Boston Globe, university leaders projected average crowds of at least 20,000 for games at Gillette. But over four years and 18 games, the average attendance is only 13,616. And this year, the average attendance slumped to 9,717, the Globe reported.

"I'm excited to watch UMass play no matter what," said Nick DiFelice, a 2007 alum who bought season tickets after the school announced the move. "Has it gone great in four years? No, but there is an upside. Are there things to be excited about? Yes."

Part of the problem has been selling the new concept to current students. The two-hour drive from Amherst to Foxborough is the longest trek to home games in the country.

This year, the on-campus games at the much smaller stadium actually drew a higher average attendance than the games at Gillette.

It was a scenario predicted by sports economist in a 2014 I-Team report about the financial risks of making the leap to big-time college football.

"I don't think the students have bought into this project at all," Andrew Zimbalist told the I-Team's Lauren Leamanczyk at the time. "I think on the financial end and the school spirit end, it seems like a very strange project."

But when asked whether UMass should punt on the concept, President Marty Meehan told WBZ's Jon Keller the school would be staying the course.

Fans like DiFelice support that sentiment. The UMass diehard points to other collegiate programs like UConn, who didn't see immediate success after the ascension to the top level.

"It can be done. It's not smooth. There are growing pains. But it can absolutely be done," DiFelice said.

And everyone agrees, the fastest way to change the financial outlook: winning.

Ryan Kath can be reached at rkath@cbs.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.