Record crowds in Division I men's basketball during the 1999-00 season helped boost overall men's attendance to the highest level in eight years.

The record Division I total of 24,281,774 fans marks the first time that Division I attendance has topped the 24 million mark. The previous record was set in 1992 when 23,893,993 fans watched games that involved at least one Division I team.

For all three divisions combined, this past season's total of 29,024,876 was the highest since a record 29,378,161 fans attended games in 1992. Also, the slight increase of nine more people attending per game over the previous season's average halted a downward trend in that category that has occurred throughout the 1990s.

Those increases came despite a drop in Division I postseason tournament attendance after record crowds the year before. The 82,108 decrease in tournament attendance occurred largely because of smaller arenas used during the first, second and regional rounds of the championship. More than 106,000 fewer seats were available to the public during the tournament in 2000 than there were in 1999.

In Division I conference attendance, the Big Ten Conference set a new standard for the third straight season as 2,255,913 fans clicked the turnstiles during 1999-00 for a 13,428 per-game average. That total eclipsed the previous mark of 2,204,556 set last year.

The Big Ten has won every conference attendance title for the past 24 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 crown.

The ACC jumped ahead of the Southeastern Conference this year to claim the second spot with an average of 11,618 fans per game. The SEC was the only other conference to top the 10,000 mark per game with 11,142. The newly formed Mountain West Conference finished fourth, followed by the Big East Conference, Conference USA and the Big 12 Conference.

Besides the Big Ten, four conferences set records, including the ACC (1,649,774), Colonial (483,061), America East (222,469) and Northeast (189,094). The Ivy Group also broke its own per-game-average standard with 2,366.

Among individual teams, Kentucky led the nation in home attendance for the fifth straight year. The Wildcats totaled 314,267 fans and averaged 22,448 spectators over 14 games in Rupp Arena.

Four teams topped Kentucky's total number of fans but played more games for a lower per-game average. Syracuse totaled 374,526 people at the Carrier Dome and averaged 20,807 over 18 games to finish second. The only other team to average more than 20,000 fans per game was North Carolina (20,163).

Division I men's champion Michigan State drew the most people this season for all games combined as 621,108 spectators watched the Spartans at home, on the road and at neutral sites. Next was Kentucky with 596,725. Besides Michigan State, the other Final Four teams took third (North Carolina), fifth (Wisconsin) and seventh (Florida). The 1989 Syracuse squad set the all-time record at 855,053.

A total of 28 Division I teams realized an increase in attendance from the previous year of more than 1,000 fans per game. North Carolina State led the way with its new and larger Entertainment and Sports Arena, averaging 5,735 more fans per game than the previous year. South Alabama improved its won-lost record from 11-16 in 1999 to 20-10 in 2000, which helped it secure second place on the attendance increase chart with 3,092 more fans per game. A new home court also helped Texas Tech finish third with a 3,064 increase.

Six other schools with an increase of 2,000 or higher were Arkansas-Little Rock (up 2,973 fans a game), LSU (2,803), Arizona State (2,570), Auburn (2,241), Montana (2,156) and Virginia Commonwealth (2,125). Auburn, which finished seventh last year, was the only school to appear in the top 10 in both 1998-99 and 1999-00.

Divisions II and III

South Dakota State regained the top spot to claim its fourth Division II attendance title in the last five years with 4,077 spectators a game. The winner from last season, Kentucky Wesleyan, took second by attracting 3,900 fans per game.

Calvin returned to the top spot as the Division III attendance leader with 3,496 spectators per game, after last winning in 1997 and taking the title in nine of the last 14 seasons. Illinois Wesleyan, champion in 1998, finished second at 2,385, and Hope, last season's title winner, took third with 2,159.

The top conference in Division II for the 20th consecutive year was the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with 300,257 spectators and a 2,114 average.

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association topped Division III conferences with a 1,091 average per game to take its ninth consecutive attendance title.

The eight teams of the MIAA edged out the 16 teams of the Middle Atlantic Conference in total attendance with 111,310 spectators to the MAC's 110,833.