Ohio State’s football program has been a juggernaut for a long time.

The Buckeyes seemingly churn out 10-win seasons like it’s nothing. Success and tradition are a part of Ohio State football. It’s been that way for a while now.

However, coming into 2019, Ohio State has a new head coach — Ryan Day. The Buckeyes are also featuring a new starting QB — likely Justin Fields. Ohio State, for the first time in a while, isn’t the favorite even in its own division — Michigan is.

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With all of these factors in mind, maybe this news isn’t as shocking as it should be: Ohio State’s season ticket renewals are down four or five percent from where it has been.

“We were down by about four or five percent,” OSU athletic director Gene Smith said on his new school-produced podcast about the program’s season ticket renewals. “So we usually renew at about 97 or 98 percent. This time, we renewed at 94 to 95 percent. So we had some extra inventory.”

So again, is the downward shift in ticket renewals due to the reasons listed above? Or, is college football attendance as a whole slowly declining? Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald talked about the topic during Big Ten Media Days in mid-July and how younger fans nowadays have phones and multiple televisions in the same room that can replace a college football gameday experience.

Fitzgerald doesn’t agree with it, but he knows the facts.

Technology may be making it easier on fans staying home and watching their favorite teams — it may not just be about the product on the field.