Six days ago, Bucknell men's basketball announced a triumphant return to the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area with a non-conference game against Siena. This is the Bison men's basketball team's first game in Scranton in 19 years. While first-year head basketball coach and Scranton native Gerry McNamara's ties to the region were the driving force behind this game, Bucknell's football program should follow the men's basketball team's footsteps and play a game in Dunder-Mifflin's stomping grounds.
Bucknell football's attendance figures are embarrassing. For the past two seasons, the Bison have averaged less than 2,000 fans per home game, ranking in the bottom five in attendance in the FCS in the past two seasons. Bucknell has had four home games draw triple-digit attendance figures. Yes, figures in the hundreds. Christy Mathewson Stadium is a venerable venue and one of the most underrated in the country but a relic of a bygone era in Bucknell football and too big for the Bison these days.
Bucknell would benefit from an event like Holy Cross' EBW Classic at Polar Park, the home of the Worcester Red Sox. Although discontinued this year, the EBW Classic, rejuvenated the Worcester community, selling out in its first year and drawing 80% capacity crowds to the 9,508-seat stadium in its last two years.
Except for the 2021 Spring Patriot League Championship Game, Bucknell's football program has not played in a postseason bowl game since the 1935 Orange Bowl. Bucknell fans likely would leap at the opportunity to have a bowl-like experience for the Bison, even if it is almost 90 minutes away in Scranton.
Luckily, Scranton's ballpark has hosted football before. PNC Field, the home of the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Railriders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, hosted the "Railriders Bowl" from 2014 to 2019. Below is a look at the football configuration of the ballpark, with the diamond spanning from the third base line to right field.
The capacity of PNC Field is 10,000 so there will be plenty of room for Bucknell fans and traveling Patriot League fans looking to experience the intriguing spectacle of ballpark football.
Bucknell could draw a strong crowd at PNC Field against fellow Keystone State Patriot League schools Lehigh and Lafayette. A game in Scranton at a minor league ballpark is the perfect change of pace for fans of those schools who may have grown tired of going to Christy Mathewson Stadium.
Finally, between the men's basketball program and football team playing in Scranton, the Bison can claim the area as their own against their in-state rivals. Winning recruiting battles against in-state rivals is a great first step to ending Bucknell's dreaded postseason drought.
Bucknell football desperately needs creative ideas to solve their attendance problem. A neutral site game could invigorate a Bucknell fanbase starving for a new experience.
