Attendance has always had an asterisk* next to it when discussing UWF football. Playing off campus all the way down town for the first few years, then moving on campus without seating, and then finally temp bleachers that only held a handful of fans. There has always been a theoretical reason as to why attendance is what it is.
You can’t make the excuse anymore that “its just a DII team”. Pensacola has a Division 1 football program.
The hard truth: If fan attendance doesn’t show a steady increase, especially when the stadium is completed, it will be a terrible look for UWF.
Come fall of 2027, I expect to see a packed out stadium. Everyone is going to want to see the new and shiny stadium, however, a flash in the pan is not the kind of number that is going to keep this program elevating.
The new Darrell Gooden Stadium is set with a capacity of 7,500 seats. These seats, plus plenty of standing-room-only areas will allow a large max capacity. What can’t happen is a half empty stadium by week 4; that is a terrible look for corporate sponsors, recruits, and other area teams who may want to schedule us.
UWF had decent highs last season as it relates to fan attendance, as they held max capacity multiple times in the temp bleachers. However, there were also games last season where the bleachers felt well too big, especially in the student section.
UWF is joining the United Athletic Conference in football this fall. The Argo’s will go from matching or elevating above their foes in attendance numbers, to being dead last.
Here is what last years attendance numbers looked compared to the new UAC (sorted by highest average attendance):
| Team | Average Attendance | Highest Attendance | Lowest Attendance |
| Tarleton State | 20,489 | 24,012 | 16,412 |
| North Alabama | 8,486 | 9,739 | 7,012 |
| Abilene Christian | 8,329 | 12,000 | 4,588 |
| Austin Peay | 6,673 | 7,773 | 5,345 |
| Central Arkansas | 6,043 | 9,279 | 3,871 |
| Eastern Kentucky | 5,633 | 8,239 | 4,067 |
| West Georgia | 4,761 | 5,349 | 4,379 |
| West Florida | 4,350 | 5,754 | 3,251 |
A couple takeaways:
Tarleton is an outlier. These numbers help you understand why they are trying to break into the FBS.
A surprise from me is how much fan support there is at North Alabama despite a 2-10 season. They will be playing in their new stadium in their home opener against Alcorn State.
Bottom Line: UWF football attendance is not good enough right now.
In no way do I expect our average attendance number to jump significantly this year. Another asterisk* year as there will be no home side seating and only one grandstand. The Argo’s will play in a glorified construction site as the new stadium is expected to be ready before the 2027 season.
However, I do expect there to be a marginal rise in attendance this year, at least at key parts of the season. The Argo’s will host at least three top 25 teams this year, one of them being their season opener. I believe the hype surrounding the move to Division 1 will bring more people out to PenAir Field (soon to be Darrell Gooden Stadium). The number of attendees late in the season may be dependent on success, as a poor outing early in the season could likely hurt later attendance.
This year will be what it is. Next year will be the tell-tale sign of if the jump to D1 will pay off. The culmination between the new stadium opening, hosting rival West Georgia, and riding off a potentially successful 2026 campaign will hopefully bring a competitive attendance number for UWF.
The further growth of the program and of the stadium depend on this. If we jump from an average attendance of 4,350 to an average of ~7,500 (a sell out in the new stadium) in a two year time, that not only builds momentum for the program but stimulates further expansion of the stadium which seems inevitable.
Worst case-scenario: Bad losses early mixed with stadium construction could lead to woeful fan support year 1.
Best case-scenario: The Argo’s keep their winning ways, fans show up consistently all year, and the program rides the D1 hype-wave to the grand opening of Darrell Gooden Stadium in 2027.
Call to action: Show up, support your Argos rain or shine, and make them apart of your Saturday routine. Watch a few of the away games on ESPN+ and be there for your local Division 1 football team!
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