Post by MIKE MACALUSO on May 23, 2005 8:22:38 GMT -5
Ann Arbor News
Numbers inflated, Eastern concludes
Report blames Diles for exaggeration of football attendance
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
BY JEFF ARNOLD
News Sports Reporter
Eastern Michigan University athletics department officials regularly reported football attendance figures to the NCAA that were more than double the actual figure over the past five years, according to a university report.
A three-member committee, chaired by Eastern Michigan vice president of student affairs Jim Vick, contends in a May 1 report that attendance inflation is a widely accepted practice at mid-major universities. But the report also holds former athletics director Dave Diles mainly responsible for allowing "startling" inflation rates of up to 134 percent to be reported by the department during his tenure.
None of the 22 people interviewed indicated there was a written directive from Diles regarding attendance. But the majority agreed it was "generally understood that (Diles) encouraged the practice, set expectations of what football attendance should be and determined what number would be used as an official attendance," according to the report.
"That is completely inaccurate," Diles said when reached Tuesday afternoon by telephone.
Eastern Michigan interim president Craig Willis formed the committee April 15 to investigate discrepancies in attendance figures. The numbers - inflated by 122 percent for the 2004 season - represent a large gap between the school's reported official attendance and numbers calculated by the school's ticket office, which oversees the counting of fans as they pass through Rynearson Stadium turnstiles.
The committee discovered that:
While the attendance for the Sept. 2 season opener against Buffalo was recorded at 17,750, the university's ticket office calculated attendance at 8,810 - a discrepancy of 8,940.
Attendance for Eastern Michigan's nonconference game with Idaho suggested a turnout of 18,920. The ticket office number registered 7,187 - a discrepancy of 11,733.
The six-game home schedule drew an average of 16,060 per game, according to the athletics department. The ticket office's per game average: 7,244.
Diles resigned April 26 to accept the athletics director job at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He said Tuesday "the sum total" of his involvement in the attendance matter was approving a counting system established by Mike Malach, Eastern Michigan's associate athletics director for business.
Under Malach's system, Eastern Michigan baseball players were paid to stand behind the ticket office's counters and count fans themselves. Malach's numbers were within 1,000 to 3,500 of the school's announced figures.
"Any other depiction (of involvement in the attendance matter) is completely fictitious," Diles said.
The former athletics director also said he requested to be interviewed by the committee for its report, but was never given the chance to do so.
"It's not like this was going on without his knowledge," said Vick, who said that the majority of those interviewed indicated it was Diles who determined the final attendance.
The report states that with "clear directives from the top, and minor changes in methods of counting," a more accurate attendance figure could have been achieved.
Malach said Diles routinely determined the final attendance number based on numbers gathered by three counting practices. Eastern Michigan sports information director Jim Streeter also said that Diles - after receiving the three numbers - determined the number used as the game's attendance.
"I didn't understand how (the athletics office) was coming up with their numbers since we were counting the same people," said Ron Reid, Eastern Michigan's director of ticket operations. "I thought (the ticket office) number was fairly accurate.
"It was always interesting to see that their number was so much larger than ours - but not being someone who wanted to rock the boat, I never asked them how they came up with their numbers."
Last season was the first time the NCAA mandated that Division I-A schools average at least 15,000 per game to maintain its standing. In April, the college athletics governing body tweaked its attendance policy, which now requires that schools meet that attendance figure - either through actual attendance or tickets sold - every other year.
Last season, three numbers - one taken from 45-year-old stadium turnstiles, one turned in by a group of 15 Ypsilanti Kiwanis Club members who are each paid $30 per game to count fans as they enter Rynearson Stadium, and a third coming from Malach - were used.
"There is no way that one can rationally defend three different numbers," Willis said. "There needs to be one number."
In 2004, a total attendance from Eastern Michigan's six home dates - including the Eagles' game against Central Michigan at Ford Field in Detroit - was reported at 96,360, or an average of 16,060 per game. The university ticket staff turned in numbers indicating a total season attendance of 43,466, or 7,244 per game, according to the report.
In 2003, Eastern Michigan officials announced the season attendance at 73,743 - 40,000 more fans than was counted by the university's ticket office for the same time period.
Based on the school's figures, the 2004 season would have been the first time in at least five years that the school averaged more than 15,000 fans. In 2003, Eastern Michigan's "official attendance" was recorded at 10,535 per game, which would make for a one-year increase of about 4,500 fans for each of the Eagles' six home games.
"It's fairly common knowledge that attendance figures at most of the universities are often inflated," Reid said. "But it was a little bit disconcerting that (the discrepancy) was that large (at Eastern Michigan).
Willis, whose interim term as president will end in nine weeks, said he has handed the matter over to interim athletics director Bob England.
"The attendance for the upcoming year will be correct," said England, who until Tuesday afternoon had not seen a copy of the committee's report. "We will count how many people go to the games.
"We will give a number that when you look out at the crowd and think there's 12,000 people there, there will be 12,000 people there."
While committee members believe that several other schools inflate their attendance numbers, they were disturbed by the degree of inflation that has for years been taking place at Eastern Michigan.
"Consequently, there is a feeling that it is necessary to inflate figures to 'keep up with the Joneses' and not be disadvantaged to inflate from a public relations/image perspective," the report said.
At Western Michigan - a fellow Mid-American Conference school - new turnstiles were installed at Waldo Stadium prior to the 2004 season in order for the school to meet NCAA regulations. The Broncos averaged 15,997 fans last year, a figure that was based on turnstile numbers and the addition of a couple of hundred to take account for those attending the game that do not pass through stadium turnstiles, according to Western Michigan sports information director Daniel Jankowski.
Prior to last year, a member of the Western Michigan athletic department counted ticket stubs once the game was over to determine official attendance.
Regardless of methods used by other schools, England insists attendance inflation will not take place on his watch.
"Given this report, I think it's obvious that these are my marching orders," England said. "After this has come out, I think I would be stupid to go out and fudge the numbers."
Numbers inflated, Eastern concludes
Report blames Diles for exaggeration of football attendance
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
BY JEFF ARNOLD
News Sports Reporter
Eastern Michigan University athletics department officials regularly reported football attendance figures to the NCAA that were more than double the actual figure over the past five years, according to a university report.
A three-member committee, chaired by Eastern Michigan vice president of student affairs Jim Vick, contends in a May 1 report that attendance inflation is a widely accepted practice at mid-major universities. But the report also holds former athletics director Dave Diles mainly responsible for allowing "startling" inflation rates of up to 134 percent to be reported by the department during his tenure.
None of the 22 people interviewed indicated there was a written directive from Diles regarding attendance. But the majority agreed it was "generally understood that (Diles) encouraged the practice, set expectations of what football attendance should be and determined what number would be used as an official attendance," according to the report.
"That is completely inaccurate," Diles said when reached Tuesday afternoon by telephone.
Eastern Michigan interim president Craig Willis formed the committee April 15 to investigate discrepancies in attendance figures. The numbers - inflated by 122 percent for the 2004 season - represent a large gap between the school's reported official attendance and numbers calculated by the school's ticket office, which oversees the counting of fans as they pass through Rynearson Stadium turnstiles.
The committee discovered that:
While the attendance for the Sept. 2 season opener against Buffalo was recorded at 17,750, the university's ticket office calculated attendance at 8,810 - a discrepancy of 8,940.
Attendance for Eastern Michigan's nonconference game with Idaho suggested a turnout of 18,920. The ticket office number registered 7,187 - a discrepancy of 11,733.
The six-game home schedule drew an average of 16,060 per game, according to the athletics department. The ticket office's per game average: 7,244.
Diles resigned April 26 to accept the athletics director job at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He said Tuesday "the sum total" of his involvement in the attendance matter was approving a counting system established by Mike Malach, Eastern Michigan's associate athletics director for business.
Under Malach's system, Eastern Michigan baseball players were paid to stand behind the ticket office's counters and count fans themselves. Malach's numbers were within 1,000 to 3,500 of the school's announced figures.
"Any other depiction (of involvement in the attendance matter) is completely fictitious," Diles said.
The former athletics director also said he requested to be interviewed by the committee for its report, but was never given the chance to do so.
"It's not like this was going on without his knowledge," said Vick, who said that the majority of those interviewed indicated it was Diles who determined the final attendance.
The report states that with "clear directives from the top, and minor changes in methods of counting," a more accurate attendance figure could have been achieved.
Malach said Diles routinely determined the final attendance number based on numbers gathered by three counting practices. Eastern Michigan sports information director Jim Streeter also said that Diles - after receiving the three numbers - determined the number used as the game's attendance.
"I didn't understand how (the athletics office) was coming up with their numbers since we were counting the same people," said Ron Reid, Eastern Michigan's director of ticket operations. "I thought (the ticket office) number was fairly accurate.
"It was always interesting to see that their number was so much larger than ours - but not being someone who wanted to rock the boat, I never asked them how they came up with their numbers."
Last season was the first time the NCAA mandated that Division I-A schools average at least 15,000 per game to maintain its standing. In April, the college athletics governing body tweaked its attendance policy, which now requires that schools meet that attendance figure - either through actual attendance or tickets sold - every other year.
Last season, three numbers - one taken from 45-year-old stadium turnstiles, one turned in by a group of 15 Ypsilanti Kiwanis Club members who are each paid $30 per game to count fans as they enter Rynearson Stadium, and a third coming from Malach - were used.
"There is no way that one can rationally defend three different numbers," Willis said. "There needs to be one number."
In 2004, a total attendance from Eastern Michigan's six home dates - including the Eagles' game against Central Michigan at Ford Field in Detroit - was reported at 96,360, or an average of 16,060 per game. The university ticket staff turned in numbers indicating a total season attendance of 43,466, or 7,244 per game, according to the report.
In 2003, Eastern Michigan officials announced the season attendance at 73,743 - 40,000 more fans than was counted by the university's ticket office for the same time period.
Based on the school's figures, the 2004 season would have been the first time in at least five years that the school averaged more than 15,000 fans. In 2003, Eastern Michigan's "official attendance" was recorded at 10,535 per game, which would make for a one-year increase of about 4,500 fans for each of the Eagles' six home games.
"It's fairly common knowledge that attendance figures at most of the universities are often inflated," Reid said. "But it was a little bit disconcerting that (the discrepancy) was that large (at Eastern Michigan).
Willis, whose interim term as president will end in nine weeks, said he has handed the matter over to interim athletics director Bob England.
"The attendance for the upcoming year will be correct," said England, who until Tuesday afternoon had not seen a copy of the committee's report. "We will count how many people go to the games.
"We will give a number that when you look out at the crowd and think there's 12,000 people there, there will be 12,000 people there."
While committee members believe that several other schools inflate their attendance numbers, they were disturbed by the degree of inflation that has for years been taking place at Eastern Michigan.
"Consequently, there is a feeling that it is necessary to inflate figures to 'keep up with the Joneses' and not be disadvantaged to inflate from a public relations/image perspective," the report said.
At Western Michigan - a fellow Mid-American Conference school - new turnstiles were installed at Waldo Stadium prior to the 2004 season in order for the school to meet NCAA regulations. The Broncos averaged 15,997 fans last year, a figure that was based on turnstile numbers and the addition of a couple of hundred to take account for those attending the game that do not pass through stadium turnstiles, according to Western Michigan sports information director Daniel Jankowski.
Prior to last year, a member of the Western Michigan athletic department counted ticket stubs once the game was over to determine official attendance.
Regardless of methods used by other schools, England insists attendance inflation will not take place on his watch.
"Given this report, I think it's obvious that these are my marching orders," England said. "After this has come out, I think I would be stupid to go out and fudge the numbers."