Bevo is bummed

University of Texas tackles declining attendance at Longhorn football games

UT's athletic department is tackling a decline in attendance at football games.

In Tom Herman’s first season as head coach of the University of Texas football team, fewer of the burnt orange faithful turned out for home games than they did during Charlie Strong’s final season.

New figures from the NCAA show attendance at the six games played in 2017 at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium dipped by a little over 5 percent versus the six home games in 2016. In light of that drop-off, UT’s new athletics director promises a “much more dynamic and energetic environment” in and around DKR next year.

In 2016, Strong’s last season as UT’s head coach, the Longhorns notched a losing record of 5-7 and didn’t entertain the possibility of heading to a bowl game. Despite a losing record, Longhorn football games in Austin games hooked 587,283 fans, with average attendance of 97,881 per game. That season, UT sat in eighth place among NCAA Division I Football Subdivision (FBS) teams for attendance at home games.

A year later in 2017, Herman’s first season leading the Horns, the team ended with a 6-6 record and beat the University of Missouri in the Texas Bowl. During the season, Longhorn home games drew a total of 556,667 fans, or an average of 92,778 per game. That once again put UT in eighth place for home game attendance among NCAA Division I FBS teams, suggesting the university isn't the only one tackling a decline in attendance.

Chris Del Conte, the new athletics director at UT, says he and his colleagues are “actively addressing” the attendance slump. “We’ve been looking at the numbers, and we recognize the dip in attendance figures in recent years here. It’s an issue that so many schools across the country are dealing with and one that is a top priority for us,” Del Conte tells CultureMap in a statement.

Del Conte says he and his team are evaluating every aspect of the game-day experience at DKR.

“We have a lot of talented people in the room and are reaching out to all of our constituents — coaches, student-athletes, students, fans, and supporters — to come up with ways to improve,” he says. “I’m excited about the plans we are discussing and really looking forward to the [next] season. We are going to have a much more dynamic and energetic environment in and around our stadium in 2018.”

As noted by Del Conte, the Longhorns are hardly alone in seeing home-game attendance slide in 2017. For example, home-game attendance for Texas A&M football games decreased by 3 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to the NCAA. The Aggies ranked third last year for home-game attendance among major universities. At the University of Oklahoma, home-game attendance inched downward by less than 1 percent. For 2017, the Sooners stood at No. 12 for home-game attendance among top-tier schools.

In UT’s football conference, the Big 12, per-game attendance wilted by a little over 1 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to CBSSports.com. Overall, the fall-off in per-game attendance in 2017 among the 129 NCAA Division I FBS teams was the largest in 34 years and the second largest ever, the website notes.

“This is not surprising to me,” Bill Lutzen, a veteran sports TV programmer, told CBSSports.com. “This issue is with lack of involvement of the college students. They no longer view attending sporting events as part of the university experience.”

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schools with high achievers

19 Austin elementary and middle schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

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Congratulations are in order for the Bats.

Several Austin elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report's just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – Basis Austin – is the No. 1 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

U.S. News ranked more than 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

Texas' best middle schools for 2025
Basis Texas Charter School's Austin campus has a total enrollment of 273 students, 19 full-time teachers, and a student-teacher ratio of 14:1, according to U.S. News. A majority of students at this charter school – 89 percent – scored "at or above the proficient level" in mathematics, and 92 percent showed at or above proficiency in reading.

"Basis Austin did better in math and better in reading in this [test score] metric compared with students across the state," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math."

Basis Austin also ranked No. 16 in the statewide rankings for the best elementary schools for 2025.

Eight other Austin-area middle schools earned spots in Texas' top 100, including:

No. 31 – Canyon Vista Middle School, Round Rock ISD
No. 40 – Chaparral Star Academy
No. 47 – Hill Country Middle School, Eanes ISD
No. 64 – Cedar Valley Middle School, Round Rock ISD
No. 81 – West Ridge Middle School, Eanes ISD
No. 85 – Pearson Ranch Middle School, Round Rock, Round Rock ISD
No. 91 – James Garland Walsh Middle School, Round Rock, Round Rock ISD
No. 100 – Florence Stiles Middle School, Leander, Leander ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while three Austin-area schools were among the top 25.

Round Rock's Cactus Ranch Elementary is the No. 18 best elementary school statewide, boasting 743 students, 47 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. Students at this public school scored 88 percent efficiency in math and 90 percent efficiency in reading.

U.S. News says student success at Cactus Ranch is significantly higher than the rest of Round Rock ISD.

"In Round Rock Independent School District, 64 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 52 percent tested at or above that level for math," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "Cactus Ranch Elementary did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state."

Following one spot behind Cactus Ranch in the statewide ranking is Austin's Canyon Creek Elementary in Round Rock ISD, coming in at No. 19. Canyon Creek has a student population of 369 with 27 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. The school's student-teacher ratio is 14:1, and 90 percent of students are proficient in math, and 88 percent in reading.

Other Austin-area elementary schools that were ranked among the 100 best in Texas are:

No. 22 – Patsy Sommer Elementary, Round Rock ISD
No. 31 – River Ridge Elementary, Leander ISD
No. 42 – Elsa England Elementary, Round Rock ISD
No. 53 – Laurel Mountain Elementary, Round Rock ISD
No. 81 – Laura Welch Bush Elementary, Leander ISD
No. 88 – Mills Elementary, Austin ISD
No. 94 – Clayton Elementary, Austin ISD
No. 100 – Cedar Creek Elementary, Eanes ISD

"The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. "The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

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