Chris Dishman’s first year as head coach at Texas Southern went better than expected. The Tigers are 4-6 overall and have a chance to finish their SWAC West record with a win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
But Dishman was troubled by the crowd, or lack thereof, during the Tigers’ 17-14 win over Bethune-Cookman last Saturday, and he made that point clear during Monday’s SWAC coaches meeting. .
“There were probably less than 1,500 people in attendance, which is the most disappointing thing in a 30,000-seat stadium,” Dishman said. “Thank you everyone for coming. Even if you couldn’t make it to the game, please get a ticket and come to the game. Stop telling us what you should do and do it.”
The official attendance number listed for Saturday’s match was 6,916, while the official capacity of Shell Energy Stadium was 20,656. According to the Texas Southern Football website, attendance for the season averaged 10,225 per game, less than half of SES’s capacity.
Tasked with rebuilding a program that hasn’t recorded a winning season since 2010, the year the SWAC championship went vacant, Dishman called for more crowd support for 2025.
“The most frustrating thing was there weren’t that many people in the stands,” he said. “I think all South Texans should come out and support South Texas sports. Get in the stands and cheer them on.”
