National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

June 22, 1998

Men's basketball attendance: A little bit louder now

Division I total tops 23-million mark for 10th consecutive year

BY GARY K. JOHNSON
STATISTICS COORDINATOR

With boosts from record attendance in the Big Ten Conference and from an increase in the number of participating institutions, the total number of people attending NCAA men's basketball games shot upward in the 1997-98 season.

For all three divisions, a total of 30 new NCAA institutions helped increase total attendance to a total of 28,031,879 fans, up 293,595 over last season. It was the first increase in four years. The all-divisions-combined record also was set in 1992 with 29,378,161 spectators. With this year's increase, attendance again rose above the 28-million mark, where it has been in 10 of the last 11 seasons.

Though the only school added to Division I this past season was Norfolk State University, which contributed slightly more than 29,000 fans, a total of 23,282,774 spectators attended Division I games during the 1997-98 season, an increase of 91,918 over last year.

It marked the 10th consecutive year that Division I attendance topped the 23-million mark.

In 1992, a record 23,893,993 Division I fans attended men's games.

Additional factors in this year's increase were larger arenas used during the NCAA tournament and more home games because of fewer neutral-site games.

Next season, Division I will include five new teams, while the three divisions combined will add a total of 36 schools.

Big Ten sets a record

With the help of its first postseason tournament, the Big Ten Conference set a new standard for conference attendance as 2,166,264 fans paraded through the turnstiles during the 1998 season for a 12,450 per-game average. The Big Ten's conference tournament contributed 108,555 spectators to the record total.

The total eclipsed the previous conference record of 2,163,693, set by the Big Ten in 1993.

The Big Ten has won every conference attendance title for the past 22 years. The only year in which a conference other than the Big Ten won the attendance title was in 1976 -- the first year in which the NCAA tracked attendance records -- when the Atlantic Coast Conference claimed the title.

The top 10 conferences in 1998 finished in the same order as in 1997. Of the nine conferences behind the Big Ten, two of them set records. The Western Athletic Conference totaled 1,997,426 spectators and the Atlantic 10 surpassed the one-million mark for the first time with 1,017,136 fans.

Wildcats winners again

Kentucky, which appeared in its third straight Division I championship game, led the nation in home attendance for the third straight year. The Wildcats totaled 287,354 fans and averaged 23,946 spectators over 12 games in Rupp Arena.

Although Syracuse's total of 337,976 people at the Carrier Dome was more than Kentucky, the Orangemen finished second in home attendance at 21,124 per game for their 16 contests. Before 1996, Syracuse held the top spot for 11 consecutive seasons from 1985 to 1995.

North Carolina was the only other school to average more than 20,000 as the Tar Heels attracted 20,966 fans per game to the Smith Center.

Kentucky attracted the most fans overall as 784,614 spectators watched the Wildcats at home, on the road and at neutral sites. North Carolina was a distant second at 654,296.

The 1989 Syracuse squad set the all-time record at 855,053.

There were 33 Division I teams with an increase in attendance of more than 1,000 fans per game from the previous year. The four schools with a 2,000 or more increase were Temple (up 4,073 fans a game), Saint Louis (up 3,976), Southwestern Louisiana (up 2,502) and Siena (up 2,416).

Divisions II and III

South Dakota State claimed its third straight title as the Division II attendance leader with 5,350 spectators a game. Northern State finished second by averaging 3,744 fans.

After years in which Calvin and Hope dominated Division III attendance, Illinois Wesleyan jumped from its third-place finish in 1997 to claim its first attendance title. Illinois Wesleyan averaged 2,615 spectators a game to Calvin's 2,389 and Hope's 2,320. Hope earned attendance titles in 1984, 1991 and 1996, while Calvin led the division in nine of the last 12 seasons.

The top conference in Division II for the 18th consecutive year was the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, with 315,918 spectators and a 2,225 average.

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association topped Division III conferences with a 941 average per game to take its seventh consecutive attendance title. The total attendance title went to the Middle Atlantic Conference, whose 16 teams totaled 115,253 spectators.

1997-98 Men's Basketball Attendance

(All NCAA men's varsity teams)

Total Teams Games or Sessions 1998 Attendance Average Change in Total Change in Avg.
Home Attendance, NCAA Division I *306 *4,058 21,072,004 5,193 144,726 -22
NCAA Championship Tournament 34 682,530 20,074 47,946 1,410

Other Division I Neutral-Site Attendance 173 1,528,240 8,834 -100,754 -166

NCAA DIVISION I TOTALS *306 *4,265 23,282,774 5,459 91,918 -26
Home Attendance, NCAA Division II *252 *3,280 2,976,420 907 103,109 -8
Home Attendance, NCAA Division III *337 *3,888 1,736,409 447 110,169 3
Neutral-Site Attendance for Divisions II and III
20 10,070 504 -- --
NCAA Division II Tournament Neutral Sites
12 18,388 1,532 -- --
NCAA Division III Tournament Neutral Sites
2 7,818 3,909 -- --
NATIONAL TOTALS FOR 1998 *895 *11,467 28,031,879 2,445 293,595 -63

*Record high. NOTES: Most Divisions II and III tournament games are played on the home courts of participating teams. The total attendance for the Division II tournament was 59,946 for a 2,141 average over 28 sessions and the Division III tournament was 63,330 for a 1,508 average over 42 sessions.

1997-98 Men's Conferences

Division I

Total Teams Games or Sessions 1998 Attend. Avg. Change in Avg. Total Sessions Total Attend. Avg.
1. Big Ten 11 174 **2,166,264 12,450 74 5 108,555
2. Atlantic Coast 9 140 1,552,760 11,091 -74 4 94,932
3. Southeastern 12 180 1,977,245 10,985 399 6 117,206
4. Big East 13 199 1,902,325 9,559 -244 6 100,687
5. Big 12 12 186 1,667,642 8,966 -695 6 89,200
6. Conference USA 12 177 1,582,763 8,942 121 6 60,256
7. Western Athletic 16 253 *1,997,426 7,895 -162 6 82,844
8. Pacific-10 10 143 1,088,395 7,611 56 -- --
9. Missouri Valley 10 138 905,418 6,561 -132 5 47,410
10. Atlantic 10 12 159 *1,017,136 *6,397 689 6 55,314
11. Colonial 9 114 465,816 4,086 49 5 22,121
12. Big West 12 168 682,589 4,063 -40 4 20,327
13. Mid-American# 12 154 *610,932 3,967 -135 6 28,312
14. Midwestern Collegiate# 8 126 408,533 3,242 -404 4 17,063
15. Sun Belt 10 135 433,072 3,208 350 5 25,156
16. Ohio Valley 10 128 382,018 2,985 -16 6 21,457
17. Big Sky 8 102 291,927 2,862 -127 3 9,319
18. Metro Atlantic# 10 132 344,613 2,611 -53 5 37,042
19. Mid-Continent# 9 112 279,308 2,494 525 3 11,866
20. West Coast 8 100 234,029 2,340 159 4 15,235
21. Southern# 11 143 334,558 2,340 -452 5 16,289
22. Southwestern 8 89 194,219 2,182 245 4 9,264
23. Ivy 8 94 187,923 1,999 -96 -- --
24. Mid-Eastern# 11 123 232,313 1,889 37 5 20,469
25. Patriot 7 80 129,968 1,625 -17 3 8,487
26. America East 10 122 196,680 1,612 171 5 18,402
27. Big South# 7 89 132,540 1,489 -342 3 16,007
28. Trans America# 12 156 216,271 1,386 -80 4 10,761
29. Southland# 10 119 147,026 1,236 -85 3 5,443
30. Northeast# 9 111 122,507 1,104 -311 4 4,983

*Record high for that conference. **All-time high for any conference. # Different lineups in 1997.

NOTE: Entire season total attendance includes the conference tournaments.

Total Games Games or Sessions 1998 Attendance Average Change in Avg.
1. North Central 10 142 315,918 2,225
2. Central Intercollegiate 12 142 195,253 1,375
3. Southern Intercollegiate 12 148 202,031 1,365
4. Northern Sun 7 94 127,263 1,354
5. Great Lakes Valley 12 174 229,615 1,320
6. Pacific West 7 96 117,080 1,220
7. Mid-America 11 147 176,326 1,199
8. Lone Star 12 161 174,599 1,084
9. Rocky Mountain 14 193 197,791 1,025
10. South Atlantic 8 98 88,352 902

Division III

Total Teams Games or Sessions 1998 Attendance Average Change in Avg.
1. Michigan 8 97 91,267 941
2. Illinois & Wisconsin 8 96 87,178 908
3. Indiana 7 90 67,804 753
4. Wisconsin State 9 111 81,318 733
5. Minnesota 11 128 93,114 727
6. Ohio 10 118 80,910 686
7. North Coast 9 105 65,369 623
8. American Southwest 7 86 52,509 611
9. Middle Atlantic 16 193 115,253 597
10. Iowa 11 136 80,663 593

1997-98 Attendance Team Leaders

Division I

Team -- G -- Attendance -- Average 1. -- Kentucky -- 12 -- 287,354 -- 23,946
2. -- Syracuse -- 16 -- 337,976 -- 21,124
3. -- North Caro. -- 13 -- 272,556 -- 20,966
4. -- Arkansas -- 15 -- 291,089 -- 19,406
5. -- Louisville -- 14 -- 261,364 -- 18,669
6. -- St. Louis -- 15 -- 265,614 -- 17,708
7. -- New Mexico -- 16 -- 282,002 -- 17,625
8. -- Indiana -- 12 -- 195,248 -- 16,271
9. -- Kansas -- 16 -- 256,436 -- 16,027
10. -- Tennessee -- 16 -- 245,947 -- 15,372
11. -- Arizona -- 15 -- 217,953 -- 14,530
12. -- Purdue -- 14 -- 197,722 -- 14,123
13. -- UNLV -- 20 -- 280,550 -- 14,028
14. -- Iowa -- 16 -- 223,404 -- 13,963
15. -- Michigan St. -- 15 -- 208,694 -- 13,913
16. -- Utah -- 13 -- 179,630 -- 13,818
17. -- Minnesota -- 20 -- 272,338 -- 13,617
18. -- Memphis -- 15 -- 201,398 -- 13,427
19. -- Illinois -- 15 -- 200,971 -- 13,398
20. -- Maryland -- 14 -- 187,272 -- 13,377
21. -- Vanderbilt -- 16 -- 213,974 -- 13,373
22. -- Wisconsin -- 15 -- 200,032 -- 13,335
23. -- Connecticut -- 17 -- 221,123 -- 13,007
24. -- Missouri -- 16 -- 204,283 -- 12,768
25. -- Michigan -- 15 -- 185,294 -- 12,353
26. -- Dayton -- 18 -- 210,411 -- 11,690
27. -- Marquette -- 18 -- 207,150 -- 11,508
28. -- Wake Forest -- 17 -- 194,223 -- 11,425
29. -- Texas -- 14 -- 156,502 -- 11,179
30. -- Clemson -- 14 -- 155,500 -- 11,107
31. -- Cincinnati -- 20 -- 220,188 -- 11,009
32. -- UCLA -- 15 -- 161,089 -- 10,739
33. -- Iowa St. -- 16 -- 171,475 -- 10,717
34. -- North Caro. St. -- 19 -- 203,418 -- 10,706
35. -- South Caro. -- 14 -- 143,517 -- 10,251
36. -- Providence -- 14 -- 142,778 -- 10,198
37. -- Fresno St. -- 17 -- 172,882 -- 10,170
38. -- Georgetown -- 16 -- 160,477 -- 10,030
39. -- Ohio St. -- 17 -- 169,490 -- 9,970
40. -- Xavier -- 14 -- 138,933 -- 9,924
41. -- Bradley -- 13 -- 127,001 -- 9,769
42. -- Penn St. -- 14 -- 136,123 -- 9,723
43. -- Hawaii -- 22 -- 211,520 -- 9,615
44. -- Nebraska -- 15 -- 141,472 -- 9,431
45. -- Duke -- 15 -- 139,710 -- 9,314
46. -- California -- 14 -- 130,258 -- 9,304
47. -- Notre Dame -- 15 -- 138,827 -- 9,255
48. -- Oklahoma -- 15 -- 138,384 -- 9,226
49. -- West Va. -- 14 -- 125,817 -- 8,987
50. -- Illinois St. -- 12 -- 104,333 -- 8,694
51. -- Kansas St. -- 14 -- 119,989 -- 8,571
52. -- Massachusetts -- 10 -- 84,993 -- 8,499
53. -- Brigham Young -- 14 -- 118,014 -- 8,430
54. -- Villanova -- 14 -- 117,472 -- 8,391
55. -- Evansville -- 15 -- 122,655 -- 8,177
56. -- St. John's (N.Y.) -- 13 -- 106,188 -- 8,168
57. -- Temple -- 13 -- 103,536 -- 7,964
58. -- UTEP -- 17 -- 135,008 -- 7,942
59. -- Seton Hall -- 15 -- 116,853 -- 7,790
60. -- Florida -- 15 -- 115,858 -- 7,724
61. -- Wichita St. -- 15 -- 115,371 -- 7,691
62. -- Georgia -- 15 -- 113,381 -- 7,559
63. -- Georgia Tech -- 17 -- 126,791 -- 7,458
64. -- Texas Tech -- 13 -- 96,548 -- 7,427
65. -- Ball St. -- 15 -- 111,110 -- 7,407
66. -- Tulsa -- 15 -- 109,972 -- 7,331
67. -- Oregon -- 15 -- 108,682 -- 7,245
68. -- Southwest Mo. St. -- 13 -- 93,089 -- 7,161
69. -- LSU -- 16 -- 114,266 -- 7,142
70. -- Nevada -- 14 -- 99,181 -- 7,084
71. -- Wyoming -- 15 -- 106,261 -- 7,084
72. -- Boise St. -- 13 -- 91,524 -- 7,040
73. -- Utah St. -- 15 -- 105,591 -- 7,039
74. -- New Mexico St. -- 17 -- 118,339 -- 6,961
75. -- Florida St. -- 14 -- 96,829 -- 6,916
76. -- Pittsburgh -- 15 -- 101,423 -- 6,762
77. -- Stanford -- 13 -- 87,546 -- 6,734
78. -- N.C.-Charlotte -- 11 -- 73,892 -- 6,717
79. -- Oregon St. -- 15 -- 100,370 -- 6,691
80. -- Indiana St. -- 13 -- 86,476 -- 6,652
81. -- Arizona St. -- 18 -- 119,298 -- 6,628
82. -- Arkansas St. -- 12 -- 78,296 -- 6,525
83. -- Mississippi -- 14 -- 90,411 -- 6,458
84. -- Ohio -- 11 -- 70,095 -- 6,372
85. -- UAB -- 14 -- 89,053 -- 6,361
86. -- Richmond -- 11 -- 69,184 -- 6,289
87. -- Virginia -- 13 -- 81,529 -- 6,271
88. -- Rutgers -- 15 -- 91,610 -- 6,107
89. -- Auburn -- 15 -- 91,509 -- 6,101
90. -- Rhode Island -- 14 -- 84,984 -- 6,070
91. -- Mississippi St. -- 13 -- 77,954 -- 5,996
92. -- Oklahoma St. -- 16 -- 95,562 -- 5,973
93. -- Texas Christian -- 17 -- 100,660 -- 5,921
94. -- Alabama -- 13 -- 74,779 -- 5,752
95. -- Toledo -- 13 -- 74,701 -- 5,746
96. -- Siena -- 16 -- 91,269 -- 5,704
97. -- Colorado St. -- 15 -- 85,461 -- 5,697
98. -- St. Bonaventure -- 13 -- 72,558 -- 5,581
99. -- Southwestern La. -- 17 -- 92,253 -- 5,427
100. -- Oral Roberts -- 12 -- 64,995 -- 5,416

All games (home, road, neutral)

1. -- Kentucky -- 784,614

2. -- North Caro. -- 654,296

3. -- Syracuse -- 563,415

4. -- Kansas -- 547,897

5. -- Purdue -- 541,838

6. -- Indiana -- 520,548

7. -- Connecticut -- 512,213

8. -- Arkansas -- 493,148

9. -- Utah -- 476,918
10. -- Louisville -- 473,492
11. -- New Mexico -- 471,767
12. -- Duke -- 462,279
13. -- Illinois -- 454,128
14. -- Minnesota -- 452,497
15. -- Maryland -- 446,213
16. -- Michigan -- 425,793
17. -- Arizona -- 414,054
18. -- Michigan St. -- 410,591
19. -- St. Louis -- 408,448
20. -- UNLV -- 404,413

Largest Division I average attendance increase from previous year
Team -- G -- 1997-98 Avg. -- 1996-97 Avg. -- Change in Avg.
1. -- Temple -- 13 -- 7,964 -- 3,891 -- 4,073
2. -- St. Louis -- 15 -- 17,708 -- 13,732 -- 3,976
3. -- Southwestern La. -- 17 -- 5,427 -- 2,925 -- 2,502
4. -- Siena -- 16 -- 5,704 -- 3,288 -- 2,416
5. -- Hawaii -- 22 -- 9,615 -- 7,653 -- 1,962
6. -- California -- 14 -- 9,304 -- 7,429 -- 1,875
7. -- Wisconsin -- 15 -- 13,335 -- 11,473 -- 1,862
8. -- Arizona St. -- 18 -- 6,628 -- 4,822 -- 1,806
9. -- Lamar -- 13 -- 4,442 -- 2,638 -- 1,804
10. -- Indiana St. -- 13 -- 6,652 -- 4,895 -- 1,757

Division II
Team -- G/S -- Attendance -- Avg.
1. -- South Dak. St. -- 16 -- 85,599 -- 5,350
2. -- Northern St. -- 15 -- 56,167 -- 3,744
3. -- Morehouse -- 12 -- 41,851 -- 3,488
4. -- Ky. Wesleyan -- 20 -- 68,400 -- 3,420
5. -- Neb.-Kearney -- 15 -- 42,617 -- 2,841
6. -- North Dak. St. -- 14 -- 39,480 -- 2,820
7. -- Augustana (S.D.) -- 14 -- 36,248 -- 2,589
8. -- Alas. Anchorage -- 17 -- 42,347 -- 2,491
9. -- Cal St. Bakersfield -- 16 -- 39,431 -- 2,464
10. -- Winston-Salem -- 13 -- 31,909 -- 2,455
11. -- South Dak. -- 16 -- 39,258 -- 2,454
12. -- Southern Ind. -- 17 -- 40,100 -- 2,359
13. -- UC Davis -- 17 -- 38,286 -- 2,252
14. -- Harding -- 13 -- 29,277 -- 2,252
15. -- Washburn -- 12 -- 26,608 -- 2,217

Division III
Team -- G/S -- Attendance -- Avg.
1. -- Ill. Wesleyan -- 13 -- 34,000 -- 2,615
2. -- Calvin -- 9 -- 21,501 -- 2,389
3. -- Hope -- 15 -- 34,805 -- 2,320
4. -- Gust. Adolphus -- 14 -- 24,222 -- 1,730
5. -- Wis.-Platteville -- 14 -- 22,440 -- 1,603
6. -- Mississippi Col. -- 15 -- 23,657 -- 1,577
7. -- Otterbein -- 13 -- 18,280 -- 1,406
8. -- Stillman -- 10 -- 14,010 -- 1,401
9. -- Wilkes -- 17 -- 23,219 -- 1,366
10. -- Wittenberg -- 14 -- 17,105 -- 1,222
11. -- Wheaton (Ill.) -- 11 -- 13,350 -- 1,214
12. -- Neb. Wesleyan -- 13 -- 15,708 -- 1,208
13. -- Lebanon Valley -- 14 -- 15,950 -- 1,139
14. -- Wis.-Stevens Point -- 13 -- 14,590 -- 1,122
15. -- Lincoln (Pa.) -- 8 -- 8,944 -- 1,118