Bolstered by Division I-A crowds, NCAA college football home attendance surpassed the 40-million mark for the first time in history in 2001.

The 608 NCAA teams totaled 40,480,823 fans for all four divisions, eclipsing the former record of 39,482,657 set in 1999. That record total was an increase of more than 1.4 million, the second-best jump in the past seven years.

Division I-A totaled a record 30,298,574 fans in 2001, an increase of 167,733 from totals a year ago. The per-game I-A attendance of 44,039 also was an all-time high. Divisions II and III were other divisions posting increases.

Division II totaled 2,648,761 in 2001, the highest since 1994 and an increase of 46,677 from 2000. Division III reached a total of 2,157,637 in 2001, up 93,447 from last year. Division I-AA was the only division posting a drop by totaling 5,375,851, down 510,020 from last year.

Home-game attendance in Division I-A accounted for nearly 75 percent of the 2001 national totals. Division I-A bowl-game attendance also hit an all-time high in 2001, totaling 1,334,808 for the 25 games. The figures in all divisions include bowl games and playoff games, and last year's totals were adjusted accordingly to account for changes in both totals and averages.

Four top six figures

Michigan captured the home attendance title for the fourth straight year, averaging 109,908 at each of its six home games in 2001. Penn State edged out Tennessee for second, averaging 107,576, an increase of 12,034 per game brought about by an addition of new seats.

Tennessee was third at 106,843, while Ohio State finished fourth at 103,532, also the beneficiary of seat additions. It was the first time in college football history that at least three schools had averaged more than 100,000 in home attendance.

LSU was fifth at 90,491, while Georgia (86,520), Auburn (85,449), Florida (85,432), Texas A&M (82,711) and South Carolina (82,614) rounded out the top 10.

The Southeastern Conference set new marks in both total attendance at 5,554,028 and per-game average at 73,079 to lead I-A leagues. However, the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences all set new standards in 2001.

Divisions I-AA, II and III

In Division I-AA, Jackson State won its second attendance title in the past three years averaging 29,067 to edge Grambling's 27,172 and Yale's 25,533. Delaware was fourth with 20,504 and Southern University, Baton Rouge, last year's champ, was fifth at 19,370.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference won its 24th consecutive I-AA attendance title, averaging 12,417. The Ivy Group was second at 10,797 and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference was third at 10,519.

Division II's Tuskegee reclaimed the attendance throne in 2001, averaging 12,957 per game for its third crown in four years. North Dakota State, last year's champ, was second at 12,115, followed by North Dakota at 10,517. Texas A&M-Kingsville was fourth at 10,375 and Morehouse was fifth at 10,323.

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference captured its 10th straight Division II conference attendance title by averaging 7,125 per game.

In Division III, St. John's (Minnesota) captured its sixth attendance crown and first since 1998 averaging 6,674 per game. Emory & Henry, last year's leader, was second at 6,460, followed by Williams (5,575), Concordia-Moorhead (5,350) and Mississippi College (5,146).

The Old Dominion Athletic Conference took its 13th straight Division III league attendance crown by averaging 3,014 per game.

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

The figures for the 2001 attendance compilation were submitted by both the sports information departments and ticket offices, and some are not considered official audited attendance. Official audited attendance for 2001 will be requested later by other NCAA departments.