NCAA D-I men’s basketball teams averaged 4,994 fans per game during the regular season in ’11-12, down slightly from 5,025 fans per game last year, according to data from the NCAA. A record 338 teams participated in D-I this past season, drawing a total of 27.7 million fans for the fourth-highest total all-time. For the seventh straight season, and for the 16th time in 17 seasons, Kentucky led the nation in home attendance with an average of 23,721 fans per game. Either Kentucky or Syracuse, which ranked second, has led the nation in home average each of the past 36 seasons. The Big Ten also led all conferences in attendance for the 36th straight year, with its average up slightly from ’10-11. Five D-I teams saw gains of 2,000 fans per game, led by Creighton, which saw its average jump by 23.4%. The school ranked sixth among all D-I teams this past season after ranking 22nd last season. Listed below are the top D-I conferences in attendance from the ’11-12 regular season, along with the top schools in average attendance during the same period (THE DAILY).
|
NCAA MEN'S D-I HOME BASKETBALL ATTENDANCE
|
|
RK
|
CONFERENCE |
TEAMS
|
GMS
|
AVG.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
|
1
|
Big Ten |
12
|
222
|
12,868
|
12,826
|
0.3%
|
|
2
|
SEC |
12
|
215
|
11,513
|
11,187
|
2.9%
|
|
3
|
Big 12 |
10
|
172
|
11,057
|
10,716
|
3.2%
|
|
4
|
Big East |
16
|
288
|
10,881
|
11,323
|
-3.9%
|
|
5
|
ACC |
12
|
209
|
9,876
|
10,266
|
-3.8%
|
|
6
|
Mountain West |
8
|
140
|
7,800
|
9,122
|
-14.5%
|
|
7
|
Pac-12 |
12
|
221
|
7,143
|
7,808
|
-8.5%
|
|
8
|
Missouri Valley |
10
|
164
|
7,064
|
7,187
|
-1.7%
|
|
9
|
Atlantic 10 |
14
|
218
|
5,556
|
5,249
|
5.8%
|
|
10
|
C-USA |
12
|
203
|
5,428
|
5,679
|
-4.4%
|
|
RK
|
SCHOOL |
GMS
|
AVG.
|
PREV.
|
% +/-
|
GMS ('10-11)
|
|
1
|
Kentucky |
18
|
23,721
|
23,603
|
0.5%
|
15
|
|
2
|
Syracuse |
19
|
23,618
|
22,312
|
5.9%
|
19
|
|
3
|
Louisville |
20
|
21,503
|
21,832
|
-1.5%
|
21
|
|
4
|
North Carolina |
18
|
20,159
|
19,144
|
5.3%
|
15
|
|
5
|
Wisconsin |
18
|
17,181
|
17,230
|
-0.3%
|
16
|
|
6
|
Creighton |
16
|
16,665
|
13,507
|
23.4%
|
22
|
|
7
|
Tennessee |
19
|
16,543
|
18,952
|
-12.7%
|
18
|
|
8
|
Ohio State |
20
|
16,511
|
15,125
|
9.2%
|
20
|
|
9
|
Indiana |
19
|
16,462
|
15,259
|
7.9%
|
18
|
|
10
|
Kansas |
17
|
16,445
|
16,436
|
0.1%
|
18
|
|
11
|
Memphis |
20
|
16,234
|
16,768
|
-3.2%
|
19
|
|
12
|
BYU |
16
|
15,424
|
18,714
|
-17.6%
|
14
|
|
13
|
Marquette |
16
|
15,138
|
15,586
|
-2.9%
|
18
|
|
14
|
Illinois |
18
|
14,986
|
15,851
|
-5.5%
|
16
|
|
15
|
Michigan State |
18
|
14,797
|
14,797
|
0.0%
|
15
|
