The NCAA recently released the attendance data for every men’s basketball program for the 2018-19 season. Syracuse led the 353 Division I schools last season with an average of 21,992 fans per home game, and South Carolina State was last with an average of 202 fans per game.
It’s worth noting these reported numbers count the number of tickets sold and not actual fans in attendance.
We analyzed the data for every D-I program’s attendance last season and compared it to the 2017-18 season so that we could identify the schools that had the biggest positive and negative changes year over year.
Last season, 190 of the 353 D-I programs (53.8%) saw attendance decline but across the sport, attendance was slightly up on a per-game basis — an average of 4,605 fans per Division I home game in 2018-19, up from 4,592 in 2017-18.
There were 89 schools (25.2%) that saw a drop-off in attendance greater than 10 percent and 91 schools saw an improvement greater than 10 percent, meaning that individual program attendance is cyclical, depending on coaching hires, promising recruiting classes and recent NCAA Tournament success.
Biggest improvements in attendance in 2019 (by percentage)
The following chart shows the 25 schools that had the highest improvement in attendance from the 2017-18 season to 2018-19, based on percentage improvement.
Rank | School | Conference | 2018 Attendance (avg.) | 2019 Attendance (avg.) | % Change |
1 | McNeese | Southland | 793 | 2,249 | +183.6% |
2 | Memphis | AAC | 6,225 | 14,065 | +125.9% |
3 | Louisiana-Monroe | Sun Belt | 1,578 | 3,341 | +111.7% |
4 | Portland State | Big Sky | 606 | 1,238 | +104.3% |
5 | Houston | AAC | 3,661 | 6,052 | +65.3% |
6 | Pittsburgh | ACC | 4,116 | 6,749 | +64.0% |
7 | Northern Arizona | Big Sky | 662 | 1,076 | +62.5% |
8 | Alcorn | SWAC | 414 | 643 | +55.3% |
T9 | Loyola Chicago | MVC | 2,404 | 3,712 | +54.4% |
T9 | Lipscomb | ASUN | 1,494 | 2,307 | +54.4% |
11 | Eastern Kentucky | OVC | 1,628 | 2,489 | +52.9% |
12 | UMBC | America East | 1,155 | 1,753 | +51.8% |
T13 | Texas State | Sun Belt | 2,037 | 3,067 | +50.6% |
T13 | Campbell | Big South | 1,458 | 2,196 | +50.6% |
15 | Detroit Mercy | Horizon | 1,240 | 1,841 | +48.5% |
16 | Buffalo | MAC | 3,569 | 5,290 | +48.2% |
17 | Sacred Heart | NEC | 442 | 648 | +46.6% |
18 | Murray State | OVC | 3,800 | 5,442 | +43.2% |
19 | Liberty | ASUN | 2,044 | 2,913 | +42.5% |
T20 | Alabama State | SWAC | 1,296 | 1,835 | +41.6% |
T20 | The Citadel | SoCon | 757 | 1,072 | +41.6% |
22 | Lamar | Southland | 1,560 | 2,199 | +41.0% |
23 | Evansville | MVC | 3,782 | 5,294 | +40.0% |
24 | Cincinnati | AAC | 8,081 | 11,256 | +39.3% |
25 | Presbyterian | Big South | 387 | 538 | +39.0% |
OBSERVATIONS:
- The American Athletic Conference had two of the top five schools in percentage increase in attendance and three in the top 25. To see that Memphis was first in total attendance increase and second in percentage attendance increase speaks to the rejuvenation that Memphis Head Coach Penny Hardaway had in his first year back at his alma mater.
- Loyola Chicago and UMBC, the two biggest Cinderella teams in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, received a significant bump in attendance the year after their postseason success. We’ll go more in-depth on this phenomenon later, but it’s likely not a coincidence that this happened after Loyola Chicago made the Final Four and UMBC upset No. 1 seed Virginia during the previous season.
- Murray State benefitted from Ja Morant‘s breakout season, as the future No. 2 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft fueled more than a 40% increase in fan attendance. The Racers’ 5,442 fan average wasn’t terribly far off from Gonzaga or Houston’s average attendance, for perspective.
- While Pittsburgh still has work to do on the court to get back to its days of annual NCAA Tournament appearances and single-digit seeds, fans started to come back to the Petersen Events Center after the school hired former Duke Assistant Coach Jeff Capel. The Panthers ranked fifth nationally in total fan increase (2,633) and sixth in percentage increase (64%) after drawing an average of 6,749 fans per home game. That’s not where the program was during its peak under Ben Howland and Jamie Dixon (roughly 11,000), but it’s a start.
- Cincinnati saw a significant jump as it moved back on campus to Fifth Third Arena last season after playing its 2017-18 home games at Northern Kentucky’s BB&T Arena.
Biggest decline in attendance in 2019 (by percentage)
The following chart shows the 25 schools with the biggest decline in attendance (by percentage) from the 2017-18 season to 2018-19.
Rank | School | Conference | 2018 Attendance (avg.) | 2019 Attendance (avg.) | % Change |
353 | Jackson State | SWAC | 2,265 | 805 | -64.5% |
352 | Idaho | Big Sky | 1,787 | 712 | -60.2% |
351 | Incarnate Word | Southland | 1,095 | 509 | -53.5% |
350 | Prairie View | SWAC | 1,624 | 776 | -52.2% |
349 | Tennessee State | OVC | 1,903 | 965 | -49.3% |
348 | Middle Tennessee | CUSA | 6,774 | 3,734 | -44.9% |
347 | Coppin State | MEAC | 1,146 | 671 | -41.4% |
346 | Hartford | America East | 1,408 | 850 | -39.6% |
345 | Stetson | ASUN | 681 | 418 | -38.6% |
344 | VMI | SoCon | 1,600 | 988 | -38.3% |
343 | DePaul | Big East | 6,147 | 3,806 | -38.1% |
342 | Louisiana Tech | CUSA | 3,447 | 2,170 | -37.0% |
341 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | SWAC | 3,504 | 2,215 | -36.8% |
340 | South Carolina State | MEAC | 319 | 202 | -36.7% |
339 | Central Arkansas | Southland | 1,416 | 909 | -35.8% |
338 | Mount St. Mary’s | NEC | 2,164 | 1,438 | -33.5% |
337 | Morgan State | MEAC | 2,293 | 1,547 | -32.5% |
336 | Missouri | SEC | 15,061 | 10,253 | -31.9% |
335 | LIU Brooklyn | NEC | 989 | 679 | -31.3% |
334 | Kennesaw State | ASUN | 1,146 | 795 | -30.6% |
333 | Central Connecticut State | NEC | 1,428 | 1,005 | -29.6% |
332 | Eastern Washington | Big Sky | 1,628 | 1,152 | -29.2% |
331 | Seattle | WAC | 1,384 | 985 | -28.8% |
330 | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | Southland | 1,600 | 1,185 | -25.9% |
329 | Army | Patriot | 1,253 | 932 | -25.6% |
How does winning affect attendance?
It’s obviously not a perfect exercise to compare wins to attendance because high-major schools experiencing a down season can benefit from large arenas and loyal fanbases, while successful low and mid-major schools can be limited by the size of their gyms. For example, Indiana went 6-25 in the 2009 season, but the Hoosiers still ranked 16th nationally in attendance with an average of 14,331 fans per game.
On the other end of the spectrum, Wofford won 30 games last season, earning a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and finishing the season ranked No. 18 on kenpom.com, but the Terriers averaged 2,368 fans in their 3,400-seat Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Even if they sold out every game, they still would have been limited by an arena with the 291st-largest seating capacity among Division I programs, according to kenpom.com.
But nonetheless, we were curious about what a scatter plot showing wins and average home attendance would look like based on data from last season.
Another interesting comparison is wins compared to percentage change in attendance. For the reasons outlined above, this could be a better indicator of college basketball’s layered relationship.
We found that for the most part, programs that won at least 25 games last season typically maintained or improved upon their attendance from the 2018 season. There were five exceptions, but we generally found that when schools have a season in which they win a significant number of games, they’re either continuing to sell out every game (leading to a zero percent change) or bringing in more fans than the previous season.
The Cinderella story
There were seven one-bid leagues represented in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and four of them pulled off at least one upset, leading to a notable increase in attendance during the 2019 season.
We’re talking about Loyola Chicago (No. 11 seed, Final Four), UMBC (No. 16 seed, second round), Buffalo (No. 13 seed, second round) and Marshall (No. 13 seed, second round).
Three of them — Loyola Chicago (+54.4%), UMBC (+51.8%) and Buffalo (+48.2%) — saw at least a 48 percent increase in average home attendance last season after their impressive NCAA Tournament showing.
Marshall also saw a notable increase in home attendance after being Conference USA’s sole representative in the 2018 NCAA Tournament as the Thundering Herd’s average home attendance improved by 10.6% last season.
Buffalo made roughly $10,800 from men’s basketball ticket sales per home game in 2018 and $162,537 for the entire season, so if the university’s ticket sales increased at the same rate (48.2 percent) as its home attendance figures, that means Buffalo made roughly $16,000 per home game in 2019 and $240,879 for the 2018-19 season.
What would a potential $78,000 increase in ticket revenue mean for Buffalo?
It would potentially double the entire athletic department’s annual revenue. Buffalo operated at an excess of $71,577 in revenues over expenses in 2018, according to its NCAA Financial Report, so all other expenses and revenues being equal, the additional ticket revenue could’ve been a huge financial windfall.
One of the other seven schools in the 2018 NCAA Tournament from a one-bid league was Gonzaga, which isn’t a typical program from a one-bid conference as it has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 21 seasons, highlighted by a national runner-up finish in 2017.
Gonzaga’s home arena, the McCarthey Athletic Center has a maximum seating capacity of 6,000 — the 195th largest in Division I, according to kenpom.com. So for a program of its caliber (kenpom.com ranks Gonzaga as the 12th-best program since 1997, for reference), the ‘Zags have a fairly small seating capacity, which they’ve maxed out in recent years. Since Gonzaga averaged a sellout in each of the last two seasons, its percent change in attendance from 2018 to 2019 was zero percent.
The only one of the seven schools that suffered a negative change in average home attendance last season was Texas Southern (-12.3%), which lost successful coach Mike Davis to Detroit Mercy after the 2018 season.
This data suggests that there’s instantly a significant season-long benefit for a program from a one-bid league that makes the NCAA Tournament, then is responsible for at least one upset in March.
Which schools made the most money from home games?
Even though the standardized NCAA Financial Reports for every Division I school for the 2019 fiscal year aren’t available, we can use schools’ 2018 NCAA Financial Reports, along with their corresponding 2018 attendance data, to see which schools made the most money from tickets sales two seasons ago, as well as per home game and per fan.
Stadium has obtained a copy of the 2018 NCAA Financial Report for 180 schools — more than 50 percent of all Division I programs. These NCAA Financial Reports are unavailable for private schools, state-affiliated institutions and schools located in certain states where public records laws require one to be a resident of the state to make such a request.
116 of the 353 Division I men’s basketball programs reside at private schools, including every school in the Big East, Ivy League, MAAC and Patriot League.
We calculated ticket sales per home game and ticket sales per fan by dividing each school’s reported season-long ticket sales listed in its NCAA Financial Report by the school’s number of home games and the total number of fans the school had across all of its home games in the 2017-18 season.
As a reminder, the prices of tickets sold in secondary markets do not result in the school getting that amount of money. So when you hear about tickets for North Carolina-Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium selling for thousands of dollars on a ticket re-sale website, it’s not as if the host university is pocketing that money.
The highest ticket revenue
The following table lists the 25 schools, among those whose 2018 NCAA Financial Reports were obtained by Stadium, that earned the highest men’s basketball ticket revenue from the 2017-18 season.
Ten of the 25 are Big Ten schools.
Rank | School | Conference | 2018 Fiscal Year Ticket Sales |
1 | Kentucky | SEC | $22,198,868 |
2 | Kansas | Big 12 | $15,855,254 |
3 | Louisville | ACC | $13,971,014 |
4 | North Carolina | ACC | $12,834,752 |
5 | Indiana | Big Ten | $10,319,525 |
6 | NC State | ACC | $7,324,140 |
7 | Arizona | Pac-12 | $6,939,738 |
8 | Michigan State | Big Ten | $6,903,495 |
9 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | $6,828,343 |
10 | Maryland | Big Ten | $6,691,236 |
11 | Ohio State | Big Ten | $6,037,055 |
12 | UCLA | Pac-12 | $5,543,085 |
13 | Illinois | Big Ten | $5,460,324 |
14 | Missouri | SEC | $5,145,857 |
15 | Memphis | AAC | $5,075,882 |
16 | Minnesota | Big Ten | $5,070,792 |
17 | Texas | Big 12 | $4,721,613 |
18 | Virginia | ACC | $4,654,678 |
19 | Wichita State | AAC | $4,511,598 |
20 | Purdue | Big Ten | $4,380,561 |
21 | San Diego State | Mountain West | $4,306,539 |
22 | Iowa State | Big 12 | $4,204,803 |
23 | West Virginia | Big 12 | $4,198,470 |
24 | Michigan | Big Ten | $4,099,387 |
25 | New Mexico | Mountain West | $3,489,086 |
The hottest tickets
The following chart shows which D-I schools, among those whose 2018 NCAA Financial Reports were obtained by Stadium, made the most money, on average, per fan per game.
In other words, how much did schools make on average from selling one ticket to one fan for one game?
We calculated these figures by dividing the number of total fans a school had across all of its home games during the 2017-18 season (numbers courtesy of the NCAA) by the school’s reported ticket revenue that’s listed on its 2018 NCAA Financial Report.
Rank | School | Conference | 2018 Ticket Sales Per Fan Per Game |
1 | Kentucky | SEC | $56.38 |
2 | Kansas | Big 12 | $53.89 |
3 | North Carolina | ACC | $46.56 |
4 | Memphis | AAC | $42.92 |
5 | UCLA | Pac-12 | $40.19 |
6 | Louisville | ACC | $37.61 |
7 | Indiana | Big Ten | $36.77 |
8 | Arizona | Pac-12 | $30.05 |
9 | Michigan State | Big Ten | $27.44 |
10 | Texas | Big 12 | $26.20 |
11 | Wichita State | AAC | $26.14 |
12 | Maryland | Big Ten | $25.33 |
13 | San Diego State | Mountain West | $25.31 |
14 | NC State | ACC | $25.27 |
15 | Minnesota | Big Ten | $25.17 |
16 | Ohio State | Big Ten | $24.85 |
17 | UConn | AAC | $24.79 |
18 | Illinois | Big Ten | $24.05 |
19 | Michigan | Big Ten | $23.57 |
20 | VCU | A-10 | $22.15 |
21 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | $21.96 |
22 | Washington | Pac-12 | $21.37 |
23 | Missouri | SEC | $21.35 |
24 | California | Pac-12 | $21.11 |
25 | Virginia Tech | ACC | $20.64 |
Conference breakdown
Here is a conference-by-conference attendance breakdown for every Division I conference.
Schools are listed in descending order of average attendance last season.
To view a financial breakdown of how much schools made off of their ticket sales, as well as concessions, parking and novelty items sold at home games, click on the conference headings below when available.
America East
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 158 | Stony Brook | 2,722 | 2,753 |
2 | 161 | Vermont | 2,929 | 2,693 |
3 | 201 | Albany | 2,474 | 2,105 |
4 | 208 | Binghamton | 2,623 | 2,009 |
5 | 229 | UMBC | 1,155 | 1,753 |
6 | 281 | UMass Lowell | 1,119 | 1,203 |
7 | 306 | Maine | 1,028 | 1,009 |
8 | 317 | Hartford | 1,408 | 850 |
9 | 351 | New Hampshire | 481 | 383 |
American Athletic Conference
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 17 | Memphis | 6,225 | 14,065 |
2 | 29 | Cincinnati | 8,081 | 11,256 |
3 | 41 | Wichita State | 10,787 | 10,194 |
4 | 52 | UConn | 7,829 | 8,652 |
5 | 83 | Temple | 6,324 | 6,211 |
6 | 86 | Houston | 3,661 | 6,052 |
7 | 93 | SMU | 6,659 | 5,770 |
8 | 109 | UCF | 4,635 | 4,724 |
9 | 116 | Tulsa | 4,517 | 4,229 |
10 | 128 | East Carolina | 3,363 | 3,755 |
11 | 139 | South Florida | 2,569 | 3,365 |
12 | 254 | Tulane | 1,610 | 1,457 |
Click here for ticket sales data for the AAC
Atlantic 10
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 22 | Dayton | 12,996 | 12,957 |
2 | 65 | VCU | 7,637 | 7,637 |
3 | 74 | Saint Louis | 6,235 | 6,890 |
4 | 92 | Rhode Island | 6,216 | 5,797 |
5 | 95 | Richmond | 6,491 | 5,730 |
6 | 112 | George Mason | 4,087 | 4,335 |
7 | 114 | St. Bonaventure | 4,286 | 4,274 |
8 | 126 | Davidson | 4,276 | 3,800 |
9 | 133 | Saint Joseph’s | 3,688 | 3,692 |
10 | 155 | UMass | 2,994 | 2,792 |
11 | 171 | George Washington | 2,648 | 2,382 |
12 | 177 | Duquesne | 1,813 | 2,308 |
13 | 197 | La Salle | 1,911 | 2,113 |
14 | 220 | Fordham | 1,566 | 1,864 |
ACC
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 1 | Syracuse | 21,462 | 21,992 |
2 | 3 | North Carolina | 18,378 | 19,715 |
3 | 6 | Louisville | 16,883 | 16,601 |
4 | 16 | Virginia | 13,923 | 14,087 |
5 | 20 | N.C. State | 15,253 | 13,897 |
6 | 47 | Duke | 9,314 | 9,314 |
7 | 48 | Florida State | 8,512 | 9,127 |
8 | 60 | Virginia Tech | 7,678 | 8,237 |
9 | 66 | Notre Dame | 7,777 | 7,628 |
10 | 67 | Wake Forest | 8,425 | 7,626 |
11 | 72 | Clemson | 7,743 | 7,015 |
12 | 78 | Pittsburgh | 4,116 | 6,749 |
13 | 79 | Miami | 7,117 | 6,645 |
14 | 88 | Georgia Tech | 6,518 | 5,945 |
15 | 103 | Boston College | 5,160 | 5,243 |
Click here for ticket sales data from the ACC
Atlantic Sun
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 143 | Florida Gulf Coast | 3,655 | 3,274 |
2 | 152 | Liberty | 2,044 | 2,913 |
3 | 178 | Lipscomb | 1,494 | 2,307 |
4 | 228 | North Florida | 1,808 | 1,759 |
5 | 311 | North Alabama | Not D-I | 974 |
6 | 320 | Kennesaw State | 1,146 | 795 |
7 | 321 | Jacksonville | 810 | 794 |
8 | 337 | NJIT | 756 | 649 |
9 | 349 | Stetson | 681 | 418 |
Big 12
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 7 | Kansas | 16,344 | 16,236 |
2 | 15 | Iowa State | 14,121 | 14,099 |
3 | 26 | Texas Tech | 10,739 | 12,098 |
4 | 35 | Kansas State | 8,711 | 10,640 |
5 | 40 | West Virginia | 12,303 | 10,205 |
6 | 53 | Texas | 10,601 | 8,650 |
7 | 55 | Oklahoma | 10,253 | 8,531 |
8 | 68 | Oklahoma State | 7,010 | 7,292 |
9 | 82 | Baylor | 6,331 | 6,218 |
10 | 84 | TCU | 6,561 | 6,070 |
Click here for ticket sales data from the Big 12
Big East
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 8 | Creighton | 17,000 | 15,980 |
2 | 9 | Marquette | 12,323 | 15,611 |
3 | 42 | Xavier | 10,475 | 10,034 |
4 | 43 | St. John’s | 9,134 | 9,798 |
5 | 46 | Providence | 9,547 | 9,542 |
6 | 49 | Villanova | 11,828 | 9,053 |
7 | 57 | Seton Hall | 8,456 | 8,507 |
8 | 58 | Butler | 8,554 | 8,419 |
9 | 70 | Georgetown | 7,531 | 7,212 |
10 | 125 | DePaul | 6,147 | 3,806 |
Big Sky
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 76 | Weber State | 6,778 | 6,755 |
2 | 115 | Montana | 4,040 | 4,234 |
3 | 154 | Montana State | 3,078 | 2,802 |
4 | 204 | Southern Utah | 2,394 | 2,055 |
5 | 240 | Northern Colorado | 1,439 | 1,650 |
6 | 256 | Idaho State | 1,617 | 1,441 |
7 | 277 | Portland State | 606 | 1,238 |
8 | 290 | Eastern Washington | 1,628 | 1,152 |
9 | 300 | Northern Arizona | 662 | 1,076 |
10 | 331 | Idaho | 1,787 | 712 |
11 | 341 | Sacramento State | 610 | 634 |
Big South
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 120 | Hampton | 4,204 | 4,051 |
2 | 191 | Campbell | 1,458 | 2,196 |
3 | 221 | Winthrop | 2,121 | 1,842 |
4 | 226 | UNC Asheville | 1,744 | 1,815 |
5 | 241 | Radford | 1,594 | 1,646 |
6 | 267 | Gardner-Webb | 1,110 | 1,311 |
7 | 268 | High Point | 1,181 | 1,295 |
8 | 293 | Longwood | 1,248 | 1,135 |
9 | 333 | Charleston Southern | 640 | 687 |
10 | 340 | South Carolina Upstate | 646 | 642 |
11 | 345 | Presbyterian | 387 | 538 |
Big Ten
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 5 | Wisconsin | 17,272 | 17,170 |
2 | 10 | Nebraska | 15,492 | 15,341 |
3 | 12 | Indiana | 15,590 | 15,206 |
4 | 13 | Michigan State | 14,797 | 14,797 |
5 | 14 | Purdue | 14,343 | 14,467 |
6 | 18 | Maryland | 14,675 | 14,009 |
7 | 19 | Ohio State | 13,922 | 13,495 |
8 | 23 | Iowa | 12,026 | 12,869 |
9 | 24 | Michigan | 10,871 | 12,505 |
10 | 25 | Illinois | 12,613 | 12,456 |
11 | 34 | Minnesota | 11,850 | 10,675 |
12 | 50 | Penn State | 7,197 | 9,046 |
13 | 77 | Northwestern | 6,488 | 6,754 |
14 | 81 | Rutgers | 4,759 | 6,240 |
Click here for ticket sales data from the Big Ten
Big West
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 97 | Hawaii | 5,793 | 5,527 |
2 | 182 | Long Beach State | 2,708 | 2,239 |
3 | 210 | UC Santa Barbara | 2,123 | 2,007 |
4 | 224 | UC Davis | 2,117 | 1,834 |
5 | 227 | Cal Poly | 1,831 | 1,813 |
6 | 237 | UC Irvine | 1,844 | 1,663 |
7 | 303 | Cal State Fullerton | 1,357 | 1,053 |
8 | 304 | Cal State Northridge | 768 | 1,036 |
9 | 342 | UC Riverside | 652 | 630 |
Click here for ticket sales data from the Big West
Colonial Athletic Association
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 117 | College of Charleston | 3,855 | 4,202 |
2 | 122 | UNC Wilmington | 4,264 | 3,962 |
3 | 138 | William & Mary | 3,507 | 3,470 |
4 | 170 | James Madison | 2,664 | 2,464 |
5 | 186 | Hofstra | 1,832 | 2,225 |
6 | 206 | Delaware | 2,713 | 2,027 |
7 | 209 | Elon | 1,591 | 2,009 |
8 | 261 | Towson | 1,563 | 1,380 |
9 | 276 | Drexel | 989 | 1,242 |
10 | 295 | Northeastern | 1,142 | 1,117 |
Conference USA
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 80 | Old Dominion | 6,346 | 6,620 |
2 | 85 | Marshall | 5,485 | 6,065 |
3 | 90 | Western Kentucky | 5,487 | 5,809 |
4 | 110 | UTEP | 6,155 | 4,677 |
5 | 129 | Middle Tennessee | 6,774 | 3,734 |
6 | 132 | Charlotte | 4,008 | 3,696 |
7 | 140 | North Texas | 2,644 | 3,364 |
8 | 149 | UAB | 3,729 | 3,037 |
9 | 156 | Southern Miss | 2,139 | 2,786 |
10 | 192 | Louisiana Tech | 3,447 | 2,170 |
11 | 225 | Rice | 2,295 | 1,818 |
12 | 271 | UTSA | 1,146 | 1,277 |
13 | 283 | Florida Atlantic | 1,188 | 1,190 |
14 | 308 | FIU | 1,267 | 994 |
Click here for ticket sales data from Conference USA
Horizon League
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 118 | Wright State | 4,304 | 4,145 |
2 | 136 | Northern Kentucky | 4,135 | 3,582 |
3 | 150 | Oakland | 3,163 | 3,017 |
4 | 169 | Youngstown State | 2,994 | 2,465 |
5 | 200 | Green Bay | 2,475 | 2,107 |
6 | 205 | Illinois-Chicago | 2,030 | 2,037 |
7 | 222 | Detroit Mercy | 1,240 | 1,841 |
8 | 251 | Milwaukee | 1,517 | 1,514 |
9 | 265 | IUPUI | 1,056 | 1,345 |
10 | 296 | Cleveland State | 1,353 | 1,115 |
Click here for ticket sales data from the Horizon League
Ivy League
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 131 | Penn | 3,646 | 3,709 |
2 | 193 | Princeton | 2,004 | 2,150 |
3 | 236 | Cornell | 1,347 | 1,663 |
4 | 243 | Yale | 1,306 | 1,597 |
5 | 247 | Harvard | 1,511 | 1,550 |
6 | 249 | Columbia | 1,587 | 1,526 |
7 | 280 | Brown | 882 | 1,224 |
8 | 318 | Dartmouth | 868 | 827 |
MAAC
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 94 | Siena | 5,968 | 5,767 |
2 | 198 | Monmouth | 2,336 | 2,113 |
3 | 242 | Iona | 1,637 | 1,622 |
4 | 250 | Rider | 1,553 | 1,523 |
5 | 264 | Fairfield | 1,347 | 1,357 |
6 | 269 | Marist | 1,224 | 1,292 |
7 | 279 | Quinnipiac | 1,587 | 1,225 |
8 | 284 | Canisius | 1,280 | 1,189 |
9 | 299 | Niagara | 1,148 | 1,076 |
10 | 301 | Manhattan | 1,094 | 1,075 |
11 | 332 | Saint Peter’s | 649 | 691 |
MAC
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 98 | Ohio | 5,597 | 5,490 |
2 | 102 | Buffalo | 3,569 | 5,290 |
3 | 108 | Toledo | 4,239 | 4,771 |
4 | 119 | Ball State | 3,720 | 4,117 |
5 | 159 | Kent State | 2,799 | 2,749 |
6 | 166 | Akron | 2,824 | 2,610 |
7 | 180 | Bowling Green | 1,917 | 2,296 |
8 | 196 | Central Michigan | 2,131 | 2,124 |
9 | 203 | Western Michigan | 2,225 | 2,086 |
10 | 232 | Miami (OH) | 1,670 | 1,696 |
11 | 233 | Eastern Michigan | 1,524 | 1,692 |
12 | 298 | Northern Illinois | 998 | 1,083 |
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MEAC
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 157 | Florida A&M | 2,188 | 2,756 |
2 | 174 | Norfolk State | 1,702 | 2,364 |
3 | 195 | Savannah State (in process of reclassifying as D-2) | 1,865 | 2,129 |
4 | 199 | North Carolina A&T State | 2,278 | 2,108 |
5 | 245 | Howard | 1,312 | 1,569 |
6 | 248 | Morgan State | 2,293 | 1,547 |
7 | 252 | Maryland Eastern Shore | 1,651 | 1,503 |
8 | 272 | North Carolina Central | 1,263 | 1,270 |
9 | 322 | Bethune-Cookman | 776 | 786 |
10 | 328 | Delaware State | 654 | 726 |
11 | 336 | Coppin State | 1,146 | 671 |
12 | 353 | South Carolina State | 319 | 202 |
Missouri Valley
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 100 | Bradley | 5,699 | 5,429 |
2 | 101 | Evansville | 3,782 | 5,294 |
3 | 105 | Illinois State | 5,142 | 5,154 |
4 | 106 | Missouri State | 4,517 | 5,150 |
5 | 111 | Southern Illinois | 3,966 | 4,472 |
6 | 121 | Indiana State | 3,675 | 3,962 |
7 | 127 | Northern Iowa | 4,090 | 3,774 |
8 | 130 | Loyola Chicago | 2,404 | 3,712 |
9 | 142 | Drake | 3,195 | 3,322 |
10 | 165 | Valparaiso | 2,722 | 2,611 |
Mountain West
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 30 | New Mexico | 10,883 | 11,107 |
2 | 32 | San Diego State | 11,344 | 10,885 |
3 | 33 | Nevada | 9,048 | 10,878 |
4 | 54 | UNLV | 10,093 | 8,639 |
5 | 73 | Utah State | 6,943 | 6,981 |
6 | 91 | Fresno State | 6,032 | 5,807 |
7 | 107 | Boise State | 6,747 | 5,041 |
8 | 123 | Wyoming | 5,009 | 3,961 |
9 | 153 | Colorado State | 3,340 | 2,859 |
10 | 179 | Air Force | 2,040 | 2,296 |
11 | 238 | San Jose State | 1,695 | 1,658 |
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NEC
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 255 | Wagner | 1,417 | 1,450 |
2 | 257 | Mount St. Mary’s | 2,164 | 1,438 |
3 | 294 | Saint Francis (PA) | 930 | 1,124 |
4 | 307 | Central Connecticut State | 1,428 | 1,005 |
5 | 312 | Robert Morris | 765 | 965 |
6 | 324 | Bryant | 634 | 752 |
7 | 335 | Long Island | 989 | 679 |
8 | 338 | Sacred Heart | 442 | 648 |
9 | 344 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 514 | 567 |
10 | 346 | St. Francis (Brooklyn) | 458 | 529 |
Ohio Valley
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 99 | Murray State | 3,800 | 5,442 |
2 | 164 | Belmont | 2,408 | 2,634 |
3 | 167 | Morehead State | 2,912 | 2,531 |
4 | 168 | Eastern Kentucky | 1,628 | 2,489 |
5 | 194 | Jacksonville State | 2,265 | 2,146 |
6 | 211 | Austin Peay State | 1,876 | 1,997 |
7 | 230 | Tennessee Tech | 1,973 | 1,737 |
8 | 253 | Southeast Missouri State | 1,251 | 1,481 |
9 | 260 | UT Martin | 1,503 | 1,384 |
10 | 266 | Southern Illinois-Edwardsville | 1,268 | 1,319 |
11 | 274 | Eastern Illinois | 1,216 | 1,258 |
12 | 313 | Tennessee State | 1,903 | 965 |
Pac-12
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 21 | Arizona | 14,434 | 13,744 |
2 | 31 | Utah | 11,710 | 11,067 |
3 | 36 | Arizona State | 10,603 | 10,538 |
4 | 56 | Oregon | 8,348 | 8,531 |
5 | 59 | UCLA | 8,619 | 8,269 |
6 | 63 | Washington | 6,794 | 7,846 |
7 | 75 | Colorado | 7,448 | 6,868 |
8 | 96 | California | 7,375 | 5,627 |
9 | 104 | Oregon State | 5,066 | 5,161 |
10 | 124 | Stanford | 4,169 | 3,894 |
11 | 135 | USC | 4,150 | 3,590 |
12 | 176 | Washington State | 2,886 | 2,318 |
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Patriot League
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 163 | Bucknell | 2,668 | 2,635 |
2 | 235 | Navy | 1,580 | 1,671 |
3 | 263 | Holy Cross | 1,641 | 1,361 |
4 | 278 | Lehigh | 1,076 | 1,231 |
5 | 288 | Lafayette | 1,327 | 1,169 |
6 | 314 | Army | 1,253 | 932 |
7 | 325 | Loyola (MD) | 700 | 736 |
8 | 326 | Boston U. | 694 | 735 |
9 | 334 | American | 761 | 684 |
10 | 343 | Colgate | 653 | 622 |
SEC
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 2 | Kentucky | 21,874 | 21,695 |
2 | 4 | Tennessee | 16,209 | 19,034 |
3 | 11 | Arkansas | 16,181 | 15,278 |
4 | 28 | South Carolina | 12,617 | 11,472 |
5 | 37 | LSU | 9,029 | 10,536 |
6 | 38 | Missouri | 15,061 | 10,253 |
7 | 39 | Alabama | 13,390 | 10,224 |
8 | 44 | Vanderbilt | 9,158 | 9,610 |
9 | 45 | Florida | 9,732 | 9,600 |
10 | 51 | Georgia | 8,213 | 8,747 |
11 | 61 | Auburn | 8,221 | 8,156 |
12 | 62 | Mississippi State | 6,965 | 7,954 |
13 | 64 | Ole Miss | 6,882 | 7,816 |
14 | 69 | Texas A&M | 9,127 | 7,255 |
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Southern
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 113 | East Tennessee State | 4,439 | 4,328 |
2 | 144 | UNC Greensboro | 2,572 | 3,141 |
3 | 145 | Chattanooga | 3,175 | 3,117 |
4 | 173 | Wofford | 2,111 | 2,368 |
5 | 175 | Mercer | 3,054 | 2,358 |
6 | 215 | Furman | 1,604 | 1,933 |
7 | 246 | Western Carolina | 1,419 | 1,566 |
8 | 287 | Samford | 1,159 | 1,173 |
9 | 302 | The Citadel | 757 | 1,072 |
10 | 309 | VMI | 1,600 | 988 |
Southland
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 137 | Stephen F. Austin | 3,782 | 3,582 |
2 | 181 | McNeese State | 793 | 2,249 |
3 | 190 | Lamar | 1,560 | 2,199 |
4 | 270 | Northwestern State | 1,180 | 1,285 |
5 | 273 | Abilene Christian | 1,246 | 1,259 |
6 | 285 | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 1,600 | 1,185 |
7 | 291 | Sam Houston State | 944 | 1,138 |
8 | 315 | Central Arkansas | 1,416 | 909 |
9 | 327 | Houston Baptist | 680 | 727 |
10 | 329 | Southeastern Louisiana | 837 | 722 |
11 | 330 | New Orleans | 863 | 719 |
12 | 347 | Incarnate Word | 1,095 | 509 |
13 | 352 | Nicholls State | 417 | 358 |
SWAC
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 187 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 3,504 | 2,215 |
2 | 189 | Mississippi Valley State | 2,343 | 2,203 |
3 | 219 | Texas Southern | 2,138 | 1,875 |
4 | 223 | Alabama State | 1,296 | 1,835 |
5 | 258 | Southern | 1,124 | 1,416 |
6 | 289 | Grambling State | 1,339 | 1,155 |
7 | 316 | Alabama A&M | 1,209 | 904 |
8 | 319 | Jackson State | 2,265 | 805 |
9 | 323 | Prairie View A&M | 1,095 | 776 |
10 | 339 | Alcorn State | 414 | 643 |
Summit League
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 160 | South Dakota State | 2,292 | 2,715 |
2 | 183 | Omaha | 2,366 | 2,232 |
3 | 184 | North Dakota State | 2,757 | 2,231 |
4 | 185 | Oral Roberts | 2,411 | 2,227 |
5 | 188 | South Dakota | 2,269 | 2,205 |
6 | 239 | North Dakota | 1,865 | 1,654 |
7 | 262 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 1,403 | 1,369 |
8 | 275 | Denver | 1,204 | 1,255 |
9 | 348 | Western Illinois | 602 | 466 |
Sun Belt
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 134 | Louisiana | 4,218 | 3,596 |
2 | 141 | UL Monroe | 1,578 | 3,341 |
3 | 148 | Texas State | 2,037 | 3,067 |
4 | 172 | Troy | 2,087 | 2,368 |
5 | 212 | Georgia Southern | 1,865 | 1,988 |
6 | 216 | South Alabama | 2,088 | 1,907 |
7 | 218 | UT Arlington | 2,344 | 1,881 |
8 | 231 | Georgia State | 1,547 | 1,716 |
9 | 234 | UA Little Rock | 2,165 | 1,674 |
10 | 244 | Arkansas State | 2,128 | 1,593 |
11 | 282 | Coastal Carolina | 1,353 | 1,199 |
12 | 305 | Appalachian State | 1,268 | 1,026 |
West Coast
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 27 | BYU | 14,230 | 11,958 |
2 | 87 | Gonzaga | 6,000 | 6,000 |
3 | 146 | Saint Mary’s | 2,984 | 3,085 |
4 | 202 | San Francisco | 1,719 | 2,100 |
5 | 207 | Pacific | 2,057 | 2,017 |
6 | 213 | Portland | 2,195 | 1,979 |
7 | 214 | San Diego | 1,817 | 1,953 |
8 | 217 | Santa Clara | 2,101 | 1,897 |
9 | 259 | Loyola Marymount | 1,238 | 1,388 |
10 | 297 | Pepperdine | 1,156 | 1,115 |
Western Athletic
2019 Conference Attendance Rank | National Rank | School | 2018 Avg. Attendance | 2019 Avg. Attendance |
1 | 71 | Grand Canyon | 6,973 | 7,170 |
2 | 89 | New Mexico State | 5,293 | 5,906 |
3 | 147 | California Baptist | Not D-I | 3,075 |
4 | 151 | Utah Valley | 3,412 | 2,932 |
5 | 162 | Cal State Bakersfield | 2,795 | 2,661 |
6 | 286 | UMKC | 1,210 | 1,179 |
7 | 292 | UT Rio Grande Valley | 845 | 1,136 |
8 | 310 | Seattle | 1,384 | 985 |
9 | 350 | Chicago State | 449 | 391 |
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