Farmingdale college students and game attendance: are students going to games?

By Richard Pacella 

FARMINGDALE N.Y. - Farmingdale college has been a staple in the NCAA division III Skyline conference for more than 20 years. Boasting a total of 42 trophies amongst all men's major sports teams and 48 amongst the women's. With such success in the field of sports I went out to interview students and see how many attended the games and why. 

“I have not attended a Farmingdale game before, I am a commuter student, I don't live on campus and have a full time job” says Jane of Farmingdale College. Being that Farmingdale is a commuter school, there isn't a high demand for boarding. Most students come to campus, go to class and then head home.

 Students like Jane can't make the trip back and forth, but still hold love for the sports team. When asked if she would attend if she could she had this to say “ Of course, I am a full supporter of RAM Central and Ram nation, I would to love to if  I ever had free time” 

The more students I interviewed the more I understood why more students did not attend sporting events. When asked why she doesn't go to games Christina had this to say “ I think I would go if I knew when they were, I usually don't know, I guess  they really don't advertise them that much” 

Is there a lack of communication on Farmingdales end, or is there just a lack of interest? Students like Cameron enjoy going to baseball games but they have a reason to be there. “ I’ve been to a couple of baseball games, but only the ones my boyfriend plays on at maritime, so when they play Farmingdale I always come.” 

Students like Brain who have transferred from Division I schools think about Farmingdale college in a different light. When asked if he’d go to a game here was his response “The energy has to be cool.” “ I feel like there's not a lot of student spirit” “ It’s a different animal when you’re at West Virginia or any Division I school” 

Farmingdale college is not a Division I athletics school. There is no stadium where students can go to see a football game, there is no multi million dollar arena where students can watch a game of hoops. It's a Division III commuter school, where most of the students come and go. 

Farmingdale may be a small commuter school, but it's not lacking in school spirit. Many students can be seen wearing their college merch on and off campus. Perhaps the lack of communication between athletic programs and the student body is to blame for poor attendance. Or perhaps students don’t want to hang around campus for hours after their final class has finished to catch a game.