The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- December 20, 1999

Football attendance tops 39 million

Increase of two million from 1998 is single-year record

BY RICHARD M. CAMPBELL
STAFF WRITER

NCAA college football attendance added nearly two million new fans in 1999, and home attendance exceeded the 39 million mark for the first time in history, bolstered once again by attendance at Division I-A games.

The 601 NCAA football teams posted a 1999 attendance total of 39,482,657 for all four divisions, a record jump of 1,991,477, surpassing the previous record of 37,491,078 set in 1998. It was the biggest jump in one year since 1978, when only NCAA teams were counted.

It also was the sixth consecutive year that college football attendance surged upward. The previous record for improvement was 1,591,352 in 1994.

Division I-A totaled a record 29,032,973 home fans, an average of 43,593 per game, and a jump of 1,358,756 in total attendance from the previous mark, set last year.

Home-game attendance in Division I-A accounted for almost 75 percent of the 1999 national totals. The continuing climb in I-A attendance, despite a proliferation of televised games, is tied to better marketing, expanded stadiums and the excitement generated by the college game. In fact, the statistical trend heading into the new millennium is the exciting passing game in college football. Televised college football games, brought about by conference television packages, appear to have increased fan support and recognition rather than caused overexposure.

Division I-AA also experienced its biggest jump since 1993, drawing 5,949,345 fans, an increase of 393,381 over 1998. It was the second-best total for I-AA since its inception in 1978, trailing only the record of 6,193,989 set in 1994.

Both Divisions II and III also were up from last year in average per game and total attendance. Division II was at 2,504,118, the best total since 1996, and Division III was at 1,996,221, the best total since 1992.

Michigan No. 1

The Michigan Wolverines took the home attendance title for the second straight year, setting another per-game record. With an average of 111,008 at Michigan Stadium, the Wolverines became the first college team to average more than 111,000 per home game.

Tennessee was second, even though it averaged 106,839, the fourth-best figure in NCAA history. Penn State, averaging 96,500, finished third for the fifth year in a row and Ohio State (93,456) and Georgia (86,117) rounded out the top five.

The Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences had eight of the top 10 teams in home attendance as the two fought it out for the conference attendance title. The SEC averaged 70,521, an all-time per-game norm, to become the conference champion for the second consecutive year.

Total attendance records were set in Division I-A by the Southeastern, Big 12 and Mid-American Conferences and Conference USA.

The Southeastern Conference packed seats at an all-time record pace in 1999, averaging more than 100 percent capacity (100.4 percent) of its 12 stadiums. Other leagues with full houses included the Big 12 with 93.8 percent of capacity, the Big Ten with 90.9 percent and the Atlantic Coast with 85.7 percent.

Jackson State in I-AA

Jackson State captured its fifth I-AA national attendance title in the last 11 years by averaging 28,933. Yale was second at 27,518, and Southern was third at 25,734.

South Florida, last year's attendance champion, was fourth at 25,053 and North Carolina A&T rounded out the top five at 21,954.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference won its 22nd consecutive I-AA attendance title, averaging 15,318. The Ivy Group was next at 11,741 and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference was third at 11,701.

Divisions II and III

Tuskegee took its second straight attendance title in Division II, averaging 13,336 and outdistancing Morehouse (11,883), Presbyterian (11,752), North Dakota State (11,410) and Winston-Salem (9,622) in the top five. The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference captured its eighth consecutive Division II conference attendance crown, averaging 6,946 per game.

In Division III, defending champion Mount Union won its first attendance title by averaging 5,743 per game. Last year's leader, St. John's (Minnesota) was second at 5,615, followed by Emory & Henry (5,418), Mississippi College (5,010) and Baldwin-Wallace (4,433). The Old Dominion Athletic Conference captured its 11th consecutive Division III conference attendance title, averaging 2,955 per game.

The NCAA Statistics Service began compiling national football attendance in 1948. Since 1978, only NCAA teams have been included in attendance figures.