OUR VIEW: Students need to show up to the football game

Go to Saturday’s football game.

If you’re frustrated with the spectacularly unspectacular performance of the Utah State football team this season, you’re not alone, but now is not the time to give up.

While the season has been plagued by lackluster performances, attending Saturday’s game against New Mexico State is crucial for the future of USU athletics.

If fewer than 14,232 fans attend Saturday’s game, USU football will be put on probation for 10 years. If, at any point during that probationary period, attendance dips below a 15,000 average, the football program would likely lose its Division I-A status.

Moving to the Western Athletic Conference next season, USU athletics will benefit financially from the bigger conference. However, if the football program loses Division I-A status, basketball and other university athletics would likely receive the boot from the WAC too.

The football team brings in a large amount of money for the university and a winning team would bring in even more. With the firing of Mick Dennehy, USU has the opportunity to bring in a coach and new recruits who will provide a better future for the program. If the program is relegated to a lower division, however, it will be increasingly difficult to recruit the pieces the team needs to be successful.

Physical attendance is the only number that matters for NCAA requirements. Merely obtaining a ticket from the ticket office is not enough. Students should go out of their way to attend Saturday’s game, even if only to walk through the gates and have their ID cards swiped.

The football team may lose Saturday. They may even lose by a lot, but, if fans fail to attend, the university and the community will lose in the long run.