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Great comments, perceptions …
There’s another issue as seen through the eyes of my kids when they have attended games — and as I get older, I’m really starting to see it.
Look at attendance at football and wrestling in particular: It seems to skew older — fewer students, more (older) alumni/retirees, longtime older Bethlehem fans.
If, proportionally, fewer students attend games than in the the 1950s (guys still attending today) on, what does that bode for the (attendance and dollar) future of these programs?
I’ve heard stories about freshmen or other students “required” in the 1950s to attend ballgames; almost all of my friends went in the 1970s. You saw a lot of students in the 1980s. But the school has evolved in many ways, attracting more students who stereotypically, at least, have little interest in these sports (pardon the political incorrectness, but internationals, women, academics, kids who do not come from “wrestling” states).
Increasing the diversity at Lehigh benefits the school and student experience in untold numbers of ways, but maybe not in attendance and future alumni support of football and wrestling, especially, as compared to today.