By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

OXFORD - Miami athletic director Brad Bates has a request for RedHawks football followers. He wants them to become ticket-buying and, more importantly, seat-filling fans.

The rain-soaked Homecoming crowd of 8,012 that showed up for Miami's 43-7 win over Central Florida Saturday dropped the average season attendance to 16,193. If a program's average is below 15,000 for two consecutive seasons, it goes on NCAA probation for a year and its Division I-A status could be in jeopardy.

That's a predicament Bates prefers to avoid. A big crowd at 30,012-seat Yager Stadium for the home finale against Toledo on Nov. 2 - which will be televised nationally on ESPN2 - would help.

"We had a game delayed by lightning (the opener against Indiana State) and a downpour (Saturday night) that impacted attendance," Bates said.

Bates described as "somewhat ambiguous" the penalties faced by a program that spends two consecutive years below the attendance minimum.

He's hoping to avoid it by attracting a crowd similar to last season's ESPN2 weeknight home games against Bowling Green and Marshall, which averaged 27,155.

"We're excited about the opportunity of a national television showcase for Miami with no other games on TV," Bates said. "We need to sell out the place.

"We want to have the same kind of atmosphere we had for last year's national TV games."

Miami might avoid similar problems in the future by playing more night home games, which Bates says are more popular with RedHawks fans.

"What we discovered last year and this year is that the students like night games, and they're the largest single entity we market to," he said. "Also, we're finding that our 30- to 40-year-old alums who have kids have Saturday morning and afternoon activities and can't make afternoon games."

The combined $2.6 million Miami spent on installing Field Turf last year and permanent lights this year allow Yager Stadium to be used more. The RedHawks-UCF game Saturday was followed by a flag football game between two ROTC teams.

The lights also give Miami the option of scheduling night games such as Tuesday's, which give the program more exposure.

"We're not going to completely eliminate afternoon games," Bates said. "We'll have a nice balance."

NOTES: Michael Larkin has caught at least one pass in 45 consecutive games, one short of tying the Mid-American Conference record set by Toledo's Mel Long from 1997 through 2000.

• The RedHawks extended their home winning streak to nine games, a Yager Stadium record. Their last home loss was to UCF in the finale of the 2002 season. The stadium opened in 1983.

• Sophomore defensive back Jerrid Gaines made his first interception Saturday.