Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham 'disappointed' in spring game attendance

When Arizona State football announced plans to have the spring football game after Pat's Run, many people were very excited about the idea, and the potential for a huge crowd at Sun Devil Stadium for the game after the race.

ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham even called for 40,000 fans to attend the spring game after the run.

But maybe having Pat's Run and the Arizona State spring football game on the same day is not such a good idea after all.

There were not anywhere near 40,000 at Saturday's game, leading Dillingham "disappointed" in the turnout.

"I thought Pat's Run was incredible," Dillingham told SunDevilSource.com after the spring game, his first as the Sun Devils' coach.  "I was expecting more, to be honest. I'm kind of disappointed. We say we want to be a football town, right? It was a good crowd but not what a football town should be."

Why wasn't the crowd bigger for Arizona State's spring game after Pat's Run?

Close to 30,000 people who participated in the event honoring Pat Tillman and benefitting the Pat Tillman foundation Saturday morning.

But the first runners took to the 4.2 mile course near ASU that ended inside Sun Devil Stadium just after 7 a.m.

I was in one of the later corrals for runners in the event, and started running around 8:15 a.m.

I finished the race around 9 a.m. and even the slowest walkers on the course likely finished around 10 a.m.

But the spring game at Sun Devil Stadium didn't start until noon.

That's a long time to ask people to wait. And so most didn't.

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I was tired and sweaty and hot after running 4.2 miles. I just wanted get cleaned up and rest and relax and get on with my day. I did not want to wait around in the sun at Sun Devil Stadium.

I was not alone.

The light rail after Pat's Run was filled with people returning home to get on with their Saturdays.

The event was also broadcast on Pac-12 Arizona, so people could watch it from the comforts of their own home, with air conditioning, instead of braving the sun in the stands in Tempe.

Could the congestion in Tempe have also played a factor in the low attendance for the spring game?

Having Pat's Run and the spring football game on the same day could have deterred people who didn't want to battle all of the crowds around Sun Devil Stadium Saturday.

And there were a lot of people around the stadium.

I heard of one Pat's Run participant who parked two miles from the starting line for the race (he evidently chose not to utilize the light rail), making his run on the day a lot longer than 4.2 miles.

The sheer mass of humanity around the stadium and near the finish line inside the stadium at the end of the race was overwhelming at times.

Having the events on different days could make it easier for people to park near the stadium, and save them time on a Saturday. They could focus on Pat's Run and then focus on the Arizona State spring football game, not try to cram in both events.

More: 10 players that have impressed as Arizona State football wraps up spring drills

Social media had thoughts on ASU football's low spring game attendance:

Is it a good idea to have Pat's Run, ASU spring football game on same day?

I was among the people who thought that having Pat's Run and the Arizona State football game on the same day was a good idea entering the events on Saturday.

I was wrong.

Both events, and the people involved, would be better served being held separately.

Do you think having Arizona State's spring football game after Pat's Run is a good idea now?

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU football spring game attendance after Pat's Run disappoints