A record number of men's college basketball fans passed through the turnstiles in 2003-04 as, for the third straight year, all-time highs were set in overall attendance and in Division I games. Also, an NCAA single-game mark in the books since 1990 fell in a game that also established a world record.

For all three divisions combined, the 2003-04 total attendance of 30,757,370 broke last year's record by 633,066 fans. The average number of people attending an NCAA men's basketball game this past season increased by 2,355 fans.

In Division I, 25,545,328 fans saw games in person in 2003-04, an increase of 543,650 from last year. Division I teams averaged 5,442 fans per game, up 70 from the previous year.

The Division I figures were buoyed by a world-record crowd of 78,129 that witnessed the Kentucky-Michigan State game December 13 at Ford Field in Detroit. That attendance total crushed the all-time single-game mark by more than 10,000 fans. The previous record was the crowd of 68,112 at the LSU-Notre Dame game in New Orleans' Louisiana Superdome January 20, 1990.

In Division I tournament attendance, the men's championship drew an average of 20,483 fans per session, totaling 716,899 people, which fell just short of the record of 720,685 set in 1999.

Big Ten captures conference crown

For the 28th straight season, the Big Ten Conference set the standard for conference attendance, as 2,134,037 fans -- an average of 12,779 per game -- pushed through the turnstiles. The Big Ten set the conference record mark for average attendance in 1990 at 13,449 spectators per game and the cumulative mark of 2,342,022 in 2001.

The Southeastern Conference actually totaled higher numbers of fans than the Big Ten this season and recorded its highest attendance total ever at 2,230,546. But because the SEC has one more team than the Big Ten's 11, the SEC's average number of fans per game was lower and ended up third among conferences at 11,439.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, which claimed the attendance title in the first year of record-keeping for Division I men's basketball attendance in 1976, finished second nationally with an average of 11,990 fans per game. That figure and the ACC's total number of fans (1,774,475) are both league records.

No other conference besides those three topped the 10,000 per-game mark. The only other league to hit the two million mark in total attendance was the Big East, which attracted its best ever mark of 2,184,497 fans.

In per-game attendance, three conferences averaged more than 9,000 (Big 12, Mountain West and Big East) and two averaged more than 8,000 (Pacific-10 and Conference USA).

Kentucky, Syracuse, lead pack

For the eighth straight year, Kentucky led the nation in home attendance among individual teams. The Wildcats totaled 295,227 fans and averaged 22,710 over 13 games in Rupp Arena.

Syracuse totaled more fans than Kentucky, as 371,018 watched games at the Carrier Dome, but that was over 17 home games for an average of 21,825 per game. North Carolina was the only other team to average more than 20,000 a game.

On the strength of Kentucky's home-court attendance and 10 neutral-site games -- including the world-record game in Detroit -- the Wildcats also finished on top for attendance for all games combined. NCAA champion Connecticut finished second in that category at 617,087. The other Final Four teams took fourth (Duke), fifth (Georgia Tech) and 13th (Oklahoma State). Syracuse, the 2003 NCAA champion, finished third at 562,328. The 1989 Syracuse squad set the all-time record at 855,053.

Thirty Division I teams realized an increase in attendance from the previous year of more than 1,000 fans per home game. UTEP, the category leader, attracted 10,282 spectators this past season, 4,244 more than in 2002-03.

Divisions II and III

South Dakota State kept intact its nine-year trend of winning the Division II attendance title in even-numbered years. The Jackrabbits totaled 57,383 fans in 2004 and averaged 3,375 a game to edge out Virginia State, which drew 3,357 fans per home contest. Last year's attendance winner, Nebraska-Kearney, dropped to third at 3,324. Two other schools -- Kentucky Wesleyan and South Dakota -- also finished above 3,000 fans per game.

In Division III, the top three finishers last season held their ground. Hope claimed the attendance title for a second straight year, finishing with 2,491 spectators a game. Illinois Wesleyan (2,007) was second and Calvin (2,014) third. The top conference in Division II for the 24th consecutive year was the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with 301,111 spectators and a 2,574 average. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association edged the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association for second, 1,857 to 1,851. Seven Division II conferences averaged at least 1,000 fans per home game.

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association topped Division III conferences with a 1,049 per-game average to take its 13th consecutive attendance title. The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference finished second and the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin took third.