The OP was a discussion on Northwestern which I commented on.
Another poster turned it into a post referring to Pitt which I commented on and how student body can have a factor in football attendance.
To be more exact on student body of our respective schools.
As of the Fall of 2023 Pitt has a Total Student Body (Including Branch Campuses) is 33,731 students).
Rutgers Total Student Body (Including Branch Campuses) is 68,942 students.
Rutgers is twice as larger as Pitt when comparing students attending a given university.
The number of students a university has the potential of increasing the attendance at home football games.
You have the number of students on site at the campus in addition to the number of Alums (graduates) who decide to attend home football games. It a numbers game. Penn State has a student body of about 100,000 students (3 times larger than Pitt).
My point is Pitt's football home attendance is not unusual when compared compared to other schools when considering total students on campus and total number of alums.
All good.
HAIL TO PITT!!!!