Despite Division I teams playing one fewer regular-season game in 2004 than in 2003, NCAA football attendance for 2004 was the third-highest since the Association began tracking attendance in 1948.

A rule in Division I that allows for 12 regular-season games in years during which there are 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November affected 2003 attendance in record ways.

But 2004 was not a 12-game year in Division I, so attendance was expected to level off. Still, the 612 NCAA teams totaled 43,105,548 fans, down only by a little more than three million from last year's all-time high of 46,114,539.

The Divisions I-A, I-AA, II and III overall average of 13,198 was only the third time since 1990 that per-game attendance surpassed the 13,000 mark.

In Division I-A, the 118 teams (including Florida International University, which is reclassifying) averaged an all-time high of 45,704 fans per game, counting neutral-site contests and bowl games. Overall, I-A attendance (counting neutral-site games and bowls) was 32,495,401, down 2,590,245 from 2003. Division I-A, which usually accounts for the highest percentage of the grand total, did so again in 2004 as 75 percent of attendees watched I-A games.

Division I-AA had a total of 5,650,727 fans, a drop of 419,389 from 2003, and the per-game attendance was 8,588, which was down just 96 from last year.

Divisions II and III attendance figures for 2004 were fairly consistent with last year's totals. Division II's total of 2,851,498 was up 15,642 from last season, while its per-game average of 3,713 was up by 105. The division's total is the second highest since 1978, trailing only that year's all-time high of 2,871,683.

Division III had a total of 2,107,855, down 45,066 from the past year, while its per-game figure of 1,867 was down just 15.

The figures for the 2004 attendance compilation were submitted by both the sports information departments and ticket offices and are not considered official audited attendance. Official audited attendance for 2004 will be requested later by other NCAA departments. For the second year in a row, postseason attendance (bowls and championship games) was included in home attendance as long as the games were played on the school's home field.

Division I-A individual totals

Michigan took its seventh consecutive attendance title by averaging 111,025 fans, the second-best total in college football history (the all-time record is 111,175 by Michigan in 1999).

The Wolverines averaged more than 100,000 fans per game for the first time in 1976 and have won the attendance title 35 times since 1949 (29 of 30 since 1974).

Following Michigan were Tennessee (106,644), Ohio State (104,876), Penn State (103,111) and Georgia (92,746).

In total attendance, Tennessee had a big lead (746,507) by benefit of playing seven games, one more than Michigan (666,149). Others were LSU (638,462) in seven games, Ohio State (629,257) in six games and Penn State (618,665), also in six games.

For Division I-A conferences, the Southeastern Conference also won its seventh straight title. The SEC had four of the top 10 teams in per-game attendance, followed by the Big Ten Conference with three and the Big 12 Conference with two.

The SEC dropped in total attendance (5,719,678) from the all-time high of 2003 (6,146,890), but turned in another all-time record by averaging 74,282 fans per game, the sixth of only seven I-A leagues ever to surpass the 70,000-plus per-game mark (the Big Ten also registered 70,198 in 2003).

The Big Ten finished second by totaling 4,591,722 fans and averaging 69,572 per game. The next three -- the Big 12, the Pacific-10 Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference -- all posted their all-time bests in per-game attendance. The Big 12 averaged 57,312, followed by the Pacific-10 at 55,684 and the Atlantic Coast at 55,735.

Other leagues totaling all-time bests included the Atlantic Coast (3,678,508), the Mountain West Conference (1,619,810) and the Sun Belt Conference (758,249). Other per-game bests were posted by the Mountain West (35,213) and the Sun Belt (18,054). Ten of the 11 I-A conferences drew more than a million fans.

Division I-AA individual totals

Florida A&M, which made the largest attendance jump of any team in 2004, won its first I-AA attendance title by averaging 25,609 fans per game. The Rattlers attracted 4,286 more fans per game than during the 2003 season (21,323) to outdistance fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference member Southern University, which averaged 23,048 per outing.

Montana, a I-AA championship finalist in 2004, was third at 22,118 in 10 home games, followed by Delaware (21,055) and Alcorn State (17,684).

The SWAC, with four of the top six teams, captured its 27th straight attendance title, the only I-AA league to win since the NCAA began keeping division attendance leaders in 1978. The SWAC totaled 521,986 and averaged 11,600 per game.

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference was next, averaging 10,424, followed by the Big Sky Conference at 10,200, the Southern Conference at 9,963 and the Gateway Football Conference at 9,864.

Divisions II and III leaders

North Dakota State, presently in the process of moving to Division I-AA, grabbed a sixth overall Division II attendance prize, including the last two in a row, by averaging 13,269 per game. Albany State (Georgia) was a distant second at 11,582, followed
by Tuskegee (10,909), Grand Valley State (10,799) and Miles (10,222).

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference took its second consecutive conference attendance crown for Division II, averaging 6,889 per game for its nine members. The North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference finished behind the SIAC for the second straight year at 5,229 per outing, and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association was third at 4,780.

In Division III, St. John's (Minnesota) won its second attendance title in three years by averaging 7,819 per game to outdistance Wabash (5,442), Amherst (5,375), Wisconsin-Whitewater (4,647) and Baldwin-Wallace (4,560).

The Old Dominion Athletic Conference, on top for 13 of the past 15 years, returned to take the attendance crown for Division III by averaging 2,883 after being eclipsed for the past two seasons. The ODAC outdistanced second-place finisher Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference at 2,876, with last year's champion Ohio Athletic Conference taking third with 2,829. The The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Conference was fourth at 2,638, followed by the America Southwest Conference (2,421).

Leading teams in 2004 home football attendance

Division I-A

Division I-AA

Division II

Divisions I-A and I-AA conferences and independents

#Did not have same lineup as 2003. +New national record. @Includes reclassifying team. ##New confence. *Record high.

Divisions II and III conferences and independents

#Did not have the same lineup as 2003. $New conference.

+Figures used for comparison reflect changes in conference and division lineups to provide parallel, valid comparisons.