The 12th man grew larger last year because of the 12th game. With the Division I-A fan base leading the way, NCAA college football attracted more than 44 million spectators in 2002, the highest total in history and an improvement of more than four million from last year.

Division I legislation allowed teams to play a 12th regular-season game in 2002 and many schools used the opportunity to set attendance records. The 12-game season also will be in place in 2003, as well as in subsequent years in which there are 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November (2008, 2013, 2014 and 2019).

The jump of four million was the largest one-year leap since the NCAA Statistics Service began compiling national football attendance in 1948. The 617 NCAA teams totaled 44,556,215 fans for all four divisions, eclipsing the former record of 40,500,823 set in 2001.

While Divisions I-A and I-AA posted increases in total attendance, Divisions II and III dipped slightly from last year's record year.

Division I-A totaled a record 34,384,264 fans in 2002, an increase of 4,065,690 (13.4 percent) from a year ago. The per-game I-A attendance of 44,367 also was an all-time high. Division I-AA attendance totaled 5,525,250 in 2002, an increase of 149,399 from last year, while the per-game average of 7,893 dipped from 8,283 in 2001.

In Division II, total attendance was 2,647,038, a drop of just 1,723 from 2001. The Division II per-game average was 3,381, down 141. In Division III, total attendance was 1,999,663, down 157,974 from 2001, while the per-game attendance of 1,759 dipped from 1,954 last year.

Division I-A bowl games totaled a record 1,389,645 for 27 bowls (the Humanitarian Bowl was a home game for Boise State), an average of 51,468.

Home games attendance in Division I-A accounted for nearly 73 percent of the 2002 national totals.

Michigan captured the home attendance title for the fifth straight year, averaging 110,576 fans for its seven home games in 2002. Penn State edged out Tennessee for the runner-up spot, averaging 107,239 fans in eight home games, while the Volunteers averaged 106,705 for seven home games.

Ohio State finished fourth with an average of 103,488 fans in eight home games. It was the second time in college football history that four teams averaged more than 100,000 in home attendance (the feat also was accomplished in 2001).

Rounding out the top five in Division I-A was LSU with an average of 90,307 fans per game. Georgia (86,520), Florida (85,185), Auburn (82,943), Alabama (82,857) and South Carolina (82,138) rounded out the top 10.

With seven of the top 10 schools, the Southeastern Conference became the first league in history to top the six-million mark in attendance. The SEC set national records in total attendance at 6,085,156 and per-game attendance at 73,315. Ten of the I-A conferences set total attendance marks and four had records in per-game attendance.

Divisions I-AA, II and III

Jackson State topped Division I-AA in attendance for the second consecutive year and third time in the past four years, averaging 23,691 fans to eclipse second-place Delaware's 20,258. Montana was third at 19,044 followed by Southern University (18,293) and Florida A&M (18,048).

The Southwestern Athletic Conference won its 25th straight I-AA attendance title, averaging 10,950 fans per game. The Southern Conference was second at 9,820, followed by the Big Sky Conference (9,636), the Southland Conference (9,630) and the Ivy Group (9,454).

In Division II, Tuskegee captured the attendance title for the second consecutive year and fourth time in five years, averaging 11,851 fans per contest. North Dakota State was second at 10,620, followed by Northwest Missouri State (9,842), Texas A&M-Kingsville (9,583) and North Dakota (9,488). The North Central Conference ended a 10-year win streak by the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, averaging 5,594 to take the Division II conference crown.

In Division III, St. John's (Minnesota) took the title for the second straight year, averaging 5,717 fans per game, followed by national champion Mount Union (5,233), Stillman (4,760), Randolph-Macon (4,219) and Baldwin-Wallace (4,120). The Ohio Athletic Conference stopped the Old Dominion Conference's 13-year reign by averaging 2,768 per game. The ODAC was second at 2,533.

The figures for the 2002 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 2002 will be requested later by other NCAA departments. For the first time since 1948, postseason attendance (bowls and championship games) is included in home attendance if the games were played on the school's home field.

Football Attendance Charts: