The stadium lights are energizing the attendance at UMass football games. 1999's average of 14,688 was the record. See this article by Jeff Thomas.
When I attended the 2003 UMass game against Kansas State, a K-State fan said the Cats made about $1 million per home game. Delaware, with a 22,000 seat stadium averages about half that.
Last Saturday's game with 15,767 had to have made a profit for the athletic dept. It's not just the ticket sales. I bought a coke and it was $2.50/bottle. While it's unlikely that the students spent any money, the rest of the crowd probably did.
UMass AD John McCutcheon wrote a thank you to the fans and students here .
The average attendance of CAA teams are as follows:
22,112 - Delaware
16,142 - James Madison
15,767 - UMass (92.5% capacity)
10,469 - William & Mary
8,604 - Villanova
7,215 - New Hampshire (111% of capacity)
6,769 - Richmond (only 31% of capacity for top-five team in the nation)
5,609 - Hofstra
4,807 - Maine
4,589 - Towson
4,449 - Rhode Island (surprise 67% of capacity)
1,137 - Northeastern (only one home game so far)
Teams in red are meeting the minimum standards for a FBS/I-A team.