From: SCHMIDT@LSTC2VM.stortek.com (Jon Schmidt)
Subject: 1992 Football Attendance Statistics
Organization: StorageTek SW Engineering
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 22:32:52 GMT

The following information on 1992 football attendance appeared in the 12/30/92
issue of The NCAA News and was prepared by James F. Wright, NCAA Assistant
Director of Communications.  The title of the article was "Football attendance
decline" - a little too negative IMHO.  Most people in athletics administration
pay more attention to this stuff than to any of the polls.
 
 
  The University of Michigan established an all-time record for average
football attendance in 1992.  That's the good news.
  The bad news?  Division I-A attendance is down nearly a half million from
1991 and all of college football declined more than 360,000, according to
figures compiled by NCAA Statistics Service.
  The Wolverines averaged 105,867 fans for six home games, breaking their own
mark set in 1985 (105,588).  The Michigan-Michigan State University game at Ann
Arbor October 10 also broke the NCAA single-game record with 106,788 (the old
record was 106,255, Michigan vs. Ohio State University in 1979).
  But for all 674 four-year colleges with varsity teams (552 are NCAA members),
1992 attendance was 36,198,508, a drop of 367,372 from last year.
  This is the fourth decline in the eight years since the U.S. Supreme Court
struck down the NCAA Television Plan.  Overall attendance dropped just twice
the previous 31 years (1954 to 1984).
  In Division I-A, the decline was 498,231, while I-AA decreased 97,931 from
the previous year.  Division II was a bright spot with an increase of 219,002,
III was down 5,351 and non-NCAA teams were up a total of 15,139 fans.
  The Southeastern Conference led all leagues in average attendance for the
fifth consecutive year at 63,737 and drew an NCAA all-time record 4,844,014
fans for its 76 home games.  Two I-AA conferences, the Southwestern Athletic
and Southern, established league records in both total and average, as did
two-year-old Big East in I-A.
  The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference led all leagues at all
levels with a total increase of 134,132 and led all conferences below Division
I-AA with 7,489 fans per game.  The SIAC accounted for more than 60 per cent of
Division II's total attendance increase.
  Michigan's record year gave it 19 consecutive national attendance titles and
24 overall.  Ohio State is the only other school to win the average-attendance
title, a feat the Buckeyes have achieved 20 times.  The top six teams in
average finished in the same order in 1991, and the top 10 teams in 1992 also
were the top 10 last year.
  San Diego State University led all I-A teams in per-game increase.  Its 1992
average of 45,725 was a jump of 12,579 over last year.  Other increases of
10,000 or more were by the University of Kansas (11,985); University of
Wisconsin, Madison (11,702);  Oklahoma State University (11,631), and U.S.
Naval Academy (10,012).  Navy's figures include the annual Army-Navy game
played at Philadelphia.
  Eastern Michigan University recorded the largest percentage increase, jumping
167 per cent (5,938 to 15,851).
  Southern University, Baton Rouge, won its fourth I-AA average attendance
title at 28,906 but its first since 1982.  The Jaguars benefited from two
neutral-site games, including 71,282 at their annual clash with Grambling State
University at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.  Their per-game increase of 13,745
also led the nation.  Tennessee State University improved by 13,134 per game,
including three neutral-site contests.
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Leading Division I-A teams in 1992 home attendance
 
                Games Attend. Average    Change
 1 Michigan....... 6  635,201 105,867   Up    530
 2 Tennessee...... 6  575,544  95,924 Down    474
 3 Penn St........ 6  569,195  94,866 Down    980
 4 Ohio St........ 6  555,900  92,650   Up  3,958
 5 Florida........ 7  586,626  83,804 Down    651
 6 Georgia........ 6  499,162  83,194   Up    634
 7 Clemson........ 6  460,732  76,789   Up  3,373
 8 Alabama........ 7  537,264  76,752   Up  1,236
 9 Nebraska....... 6  457,124  76,187 Down     58
10 Auburn......... 7  510,549  72,936 Down  5,943
11 Washington..... 7  504,500  72,071 Down    213
12 Texas.......... 5  340,758  68,152 Down    942
13 Louisiana St... 7  469,195  67,028 Down  1,718
14 Iowa........... 7  466,485  66,641 Down  3,430
15 Brigham Young.. 6  390,476  65,079   Up  3,173
16 Oklahoma....... 7  449,161  64,166 Down  4,890
17 South Carolina. 6  382,368  63,728 Down  1,551
18 Florida St..... 6  376,784  62,797   Up  1,491
19 Wisconsin...... 6  368,269  61,378   Up 11,702
20 Michigan St.... 6  358,886  59,814 Down 10,391
21 Southern Cal... 5  298,769  59,754 Down  4,450
22 Notre Dame..... 6  354,450  59,075           0
23 California..... 5  280,162  56,032   Up  6,532
24 Miami (Fla.)... 6  334,052  55,675 Down  2,289
25 Texas A&M...... 7  387,846  55,407 Down  7,911
26 Kentucky....... 6  324,875  54,146 Down    396
27 Stanford....... 6  312,401  52,067 Down    368
28 Illinois....... 6  301,216  50,203 Down  5,404
29 Colorado....... 6  298,149  49,692 Down  2,218
30 Syracuse....... 6  295,910  49,318   Up  5,819
31 West Virginia.. 7  344,989  49,284   Up    600
32 UCLA........... 6  295,561  49,260   Up    108
33 Arizona St..... 6  293,365  48,894 Down  6,821
34 North Carolina. 6  283,025  47,171   Up    814
35 No Carolina St. 6  282,942  47,157   Up  3,661
36 Arizona........ 6  282,127  47,021   Up  1,590
37 Arkansas....... 6  276,196  46,033 Down    110
38 San Diego St... 6  274,347  45,725   Up 12,579
39 Virginia Tech.. 6  270,613  45,102   Up  1,414
40 Hawaii......... 7  311,022  44,432   Up    982
41 Indiana........ 6  260,799  43,467 Down  3,829
42 Georgia Tech... 6  259,066  43,178 Down  4,446
43 Virginia....... 6  258,400  43,067   Up  1,481
44 Kansas......... 6  251,500  41,917   Up 11,985
45 Air Force...... 7  284,371  40,624 Down  3,498
46 Mississippi St. 5  197,099  49,420 Down    915
47 Northwestern... 5  196,835  39,367   Up  4,530
48 Texas Tech..... 6  233,894  38,982   Up  1,178
49 Missouri....... 6  233,833  38,972 Down    841
50 Oklahoma St.... 5  193,783  38,757   Up 11,631
51 Purdue......... 6  229,373  38,229 Down    943
52 Vanderbilt..... 6  229,070  38,178   Up  2,372
53 Minnesota...... 6  227,446  37,908   Up  1,538
54 Iowa St........ 6  225,490  37,582 Down  4,753
55 Memphis St..... 6  224,449  37,408   Up  5,425
56 Mississippi.... 7  256,066  36,581 Down  2,179
57 Fresno St...... 6  211,352  35,225   Up  1,326
58 Navy........... 7  245,764  35,109   Up 10,012
59 Army........... 7  244,041  34,863 Down  5,242
60 Oregon......... 7  236,584  33,798 Down  7,716
61 East Carolina.. 5  164,068  32,814   Up    772
62 Louisville..... 5  161,913  32,383 Down  4,113
63 Baylor......... 7  226,512  32,359 Down  5,661
64 UTEP........... 5  158,962  31,792   Up  2,433
65 Pittsburgh..... 6  190,316  31,719 Down  4,793
66 Boston College. 6  179,095  29,849   Up  1,177
67 Utah........... 5  149,034  29,807   Up  3,542
68 Rutgers........ 6  174,817  29,136   Up  7,263
69 Tulane......... 5  142,323  28,465   Up  3,048
70 Oregon St...... 6  168,704  28,117   Up  3,148
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Designated home team at off-campus neutral sites (total included in averages
above):
- Florida 1g Jacksonville 82,439 (average 84,031 six home games);
- Alabama 3g Birmingham 243,804;
- Iowa 1g East Rutherford 46,251 (average 70,039 six home games - ranked 12th);
- Oklahoma 1g Dallas 75,587;
- Texas A&M 1g Anaheim 35,240 (average 58,768 six home games - ranked 23rd);
- Arkansas 3g Little Rock 151,178;
- Northwestern 1g Chicago 64,877;
- Mississippi 1g Jackson 47,133;
- Navy 1g Philadelphia 65,207, 1g East Rutherford 50,941;
- Rutgers 2g East Rutherford 90,471.
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Leading Division I-AA teams in 1992 home attendance
 
                Games Attend. Average    Change
 1 Southern-B.R... 7  202,344  28,906   Up 13,745
 2 Jackson St..... 4   99,000  24,750   Up  1,584
 3 Alabama St..... 7  164,859  23,551   Up  1,122
 4 Marshall....... 6  138,910  23,152   Up  1,191
 5 Florida A&M.... 6  132,396  22,066 Down  3,141
 6 Tennessee St... 6  130,574  21,762   Up 13,134
 7 Grambling...... 6  129,547  21,591 Down  5,590
 8 Alcorn St...... 4   79,715  19,929   Up  8,126
 9 Citadel........ 6  116,156  19,359   Up    864
10 Boise St....... 6  114,807  19,135 Down    636
11 Appalachian St. 5   93,189  18,638   Up  3,076
12 Delaware....... 6  107,090  17,848 Down  1,952
13 Northeast La... 5   87,360  17,472   Up  1,903
14 So Carolina St. 7  120,764  17,252   Up  2,985
15 McNeese St..... 5   85,191  17,038   Up  4,034
16 Mississippi Val 4   66,412  16,603 Down  1,394
17 Ga Southern.... 8  118,562  14,820 Down  1,884
18 No Carolina A&T 5   71,673  14,335 Down     20
19 Richmond....... 6   85,386  14,231   Up  4,330
20 Northern Iowa.. 6   85,263  14,211   Up  3,174
21 Texas Southern. 4   55,500  13,875   Up  2,946
22 Harvard........ 5   68,840  13,768 Down  2,061
23 Pennsylvania... 5   67,004  13,401 Down  3,473
24 Furman......... 6   80,104  13,351 Down    845
25 Eastern Ky..... 5   64,300  12,860 Down  2,307
26 Princeton...... 5   63,799  12,760   Up  1,635
27 Prairie View... 6   76,395  12,733   Up  6,180
28 Yale........... 5   60,744  12,149 Down  8,421
29 SW Missouri St. 5   60,639  12,128   Up    407
30 William & Mary. 5   60,484  12,097 Down    687
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Designated home team at off-campus neutral sites (total included in averages
above):
- Southern-B.R. 1g New Orleans 71,282, 1g Shreveport 27,132;
- Alabama St 1g Mobile 10,261, 1g Birmingham 43,275, 1g Indianapolis 62,109;
- Florida A&M 1g Orlando 21,610, 1g Tampa 40,741;
- Tennessee St 1g Nashville 23,578, 1g Memphis 37,437, 1g Atlanta 43,211;
- Grambling 1g Pontiac 26,000, 1g East Rutherford 40,848;
- So Carolina St 1g Columbus 25,200, 1g Atlanta 55,296, 1g Summerville 8,500;
- Mississippi Val 1g Chicago 43,692;
- Prairie View 1g Dallas 54,307.
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Leading Division II teams in 1992 home attendance
 
                Games Attend. Average    Change
 1 Norfolk St..... 5   70,978  14,196 Down  2,583
 2 Tuskegee....... 6   80,218  13,370   Up  2,661
 3 Jacksonville St 5   61,950  12,390 Down  1,890
 4 Portland St.... 6   74,226  12,371   Up  2,209
 5 North Dakota St 5   59,126  11,825 Down     78
 6 Morehouse...... 5   52,966  10,593   Up  2,264
 7 Virginia St.... 5   49,720   9,944   Up  5,649
 8 Texas A&I...... 5   49,000   9,800   Up    140
 9 Hampton........ 5   43,123   8,625   Up  3,275
10 N.C. Central... 5   41,574   8,315   Up  4,292
11 Winston Salem.. 5   41,439   8,288 Down  4,363
12 UC Davis....... 5   40,350   8,070   Up  3,170
13 Troy St........ 4   31,200   7,800   Up  1,675
14 North Dakota... 5   38,667   7,733   Up  2,887
15 Morris Brown... 5   37,687   7,537 Down    213
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Leading Division III teams in 1992 home attendance
 
                Games Attend. Average    Change
 1 Dayton......... 7   42,687   6,098 Down  1,559
 2 Ala-Birmingham. 5   29,909   5,982   Up  1,737
 3 Emory & Henry.. 5   25,495   5,099   Up    475
 4 Trenton St..... 5   25,485   5,097   Up  1,977
 5 Hampden-Sydney. 6   30,068   5,011   Up  1,469
 6 St Johns (Minn) 5   24,456   4,891 Down    209
 7 Williams....... 4   19,120   4,780 Down  1,149
 8 Baldwin-Wallace 5   23,200   4,640 Down  1,377
 9 Lycoming....... 5   23,106   4,621   Up  1,721
10 Cortland St.... 4   18,100   4,525   Up  1,383
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Leading Non-NCAA teams in 1992 home attendance
 
                Games Attend. Average    Change
 1 Central St (OH) 7   44,000   6,286   Up  3,086
 2 Arkansas Tech.. 4   20,036   5,009   Up  1,025
 3 Northeastern Ok 5   24,100   4,820   Up    320
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Divisions I-A and I-AA conferences and independent groups
 
                                                          Change     Change
                         Teams Games Attendance Avg. PG  in Avg.+   in Total+
 1 Southeastern (I-A)#.... 12    76  *4,844,014  63,737 Down   838   Up     874
 2 Big Ten (I-A).......... 10    60   3,600,410  60,007 Down   233 Down  74,244
 3 Big Eight (I-A)........  8    47   2,247,907  47,828   Up   721 Down  60,331
 4 Pacific-10 (I-A)....... 10    60   2,825,401  47,090 Down 1,249 Down  26,590
 5 Atlantic Coast (I-A)#..  9    53  *2,332,674  44,013 Down 2,044 Down 292,572
 6 Big East (I-A).........  8    48  *1,847,269 *38,485   Up   429   Up  56,658
 7 Southwest (I-A)#.......  8    47   1,697,152  36,110 Down 4,339 Down  42,159
 8 Western Athletic (I-A)# 10    60  *2,111,587  35,193   Up   976   Up  24,332
 9 I-A Independents#...... 15    81   2,676,108  33,038 Down   524 Down 109,537
10 Southwestern (I-AA)....  8    42    *873,772 *20,804   Up 2,581   Up  17,281
11 Mid-American (I-A)#.... 10    49     704,233  14,372   Up   807   Up  26,004
12 Big West (I-A)#........  7    36     515,291  14,314   Up   684 Down   2,666
13 Southern (I-AA)#.......  9    55    *700,613 *12,738 Down   156   Up  43,035
14 Mid-Eastern (I-AA).....  7    38     450,962  11,867 Down 2,593 Down 127,450
15 Ivy League (I-AA)......  8    40     401,980  10,050 Down 1,923 Down  64,948
16 Southland (I-AA).......  8    45     429,971   9,555 Down    18   Up  37,458
17 Big Sky (I-AA)#........  8    46     437,592   9,513 Down   126 Down  34,715
18 Yankee (I-AA)..........  9    53     461,366   8,705 Down   285   Up  29,844
19 Gateway (I-AA).........  7    40     345,823   8,646 Down   104   Up  13,341
20 Ohio Valley (I-AA)#....  9    49     395,264   8,067   Up   666   Up  54,838
21 I-AA Independents#.....  9    46     358,425   7,792 Down   129 Down  37,647
22 Patriot League (I-AA)..  6    31     202,187   6,522 Down   702 Down  28,968
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Record high for this conference.
+The 1992 figures used for comparison reflect changes in conference, division
and association lineups to provide parallel, valid comparisons (i.e. 1992
lineups vs same teams in 1991, whether members or not); conferences,
independent groups and divisions marked (#) did not have the same lineups in
1992 as in 1991.
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Conferences and independent groups below Division I-AA
 
                                                          Change     Change
                         Teams Games Attendance Avg. PG  in Avg.+   in Total+
 1 Southern Intercol......  9    46     344,504   7,489   Up 1,114   Up 134,132
 2 Central Intercol....... 11    53     386,465   7,292   Up   689   Up  36,503
 3 Western Football#......  5    25     149,211   5,968   Up    28   Up  12,587
 4 Gulf South.............  7    35     182,545   5,216 Down   140 Down  10,281
 5 Lone Star..............  7    32     156,847   4,901   Up   626   Up   2,964
 6 North Central.......... 10    53     249,684   4,711   Up    17   Up  15,000
 7 Pennsylvania........... 14    72     295,454   4,104 Down   115   Up  12,753
 8 South Atlantic.........  8    40     145,527   3,638   Up   565   Up  19,523
 9 Mid-American Intercol.. 10    54     192,830   3,571   Up   292   Up  22,326
10 Arkansas Intercol......  7    33     114,864   3,481   Up   101 Down   3,426
11 Oklahoma Intercol......  6    27      90,600   3,356   Up   363   Up   3,800
12 Old Dominion...........  6    30     100,132   3,338   Up    55 Down   1,642
13 Northern California....  6    29      96,218   3,318   Up   956   Up  18,267
14 Division II Independ.#. 16    71     212,370   2,991   Up   279   Up  22,514
15 Midwest Intercol....... 11    59     167,512   2,839 Down   356 Down  14,624
16 New England Small Col.. 10    40     112,912   2,823 Down   135 Down   5,416
17 Middle Atlantic........  9    45     112,006   2,489 Down    70   Up   1,971
18 Ohio Athletic.......... 10    51     124,607   2,443 Down    41   Up   2,903
19 New Jersey Athletic....  7    34      82,428   2,424   Up   317   Up   4,470
20 Wisconsin State U......  9    37      89,184   2,410   Up   602   Up   9,613
21 Minnesota Intercol..... 10    48     114,781   2,391 Down   152 Down   2,186
22 Michigan Intercol......  6    27      64,414   2,386 Down    39 Down   3,480
23 Texas Intercol.........  6    29      66,879   2,306 Down   219 Down  16,439
24 Centennial Football....  8    38      82,879   2,181   Up   198   Up   1,570
25 University Athletic....  4    19      38,421   2,022   Up   238   Up     957
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+The 1992 figures used for comparison reflect changes in conference, division
and association lineups to provide parallel, valid comparisons (i.e. 1992
lineups vs same teams in 1991, whether members or not); conferences,
independent groups and divisions marked (#) did not have the same lineups in
1992 as in 1991.
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Division Summaries
 
                                                          Change     Change
                         Teams Games Attendance Avg. PG  in Avg.+   in Total+
DIVISION I-A#             107   617  25,402,046  41,170 Down   403 Down 498,231
DIVISION I-AA#             88   485   5,057,955  10,429 Down   290 Down  97,931
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I-A & I-AA Combined       195 1,102  30,460,001  27,641 Down   490 Down 596,162
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NCAA DIVISION II#         129   643   2,733,094   4,251   Up   273   Up 219,002
NCAA DIVISION III#        228 1,079   2,032,336   1,844 Down    15 Down   5,351
ALL NON-NCAA#             122   568     973,077   1,713   Up    29   Up  15,139
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL VARSITY TEAMS         674 3,392  36,198,508  10,672 Down   153 Down 367,372
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+The 1992 figures used for comparison reflect changes in conference, division
and association lineups to provide parallel, valid comparisons (i.e. 1992
lineups vs same teams in 1991, whether members or not); conferences,
independent groups and divisions marked (#) did not have the same lineups in
1992 as in 1991.
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Division I-A conferences and independent groups by percentage of capacity
 
                     Percent
 1 Southeastern...... 93.54
 2 Atlantic Coast.... 89.88
 3 Big Ten........... 82.44
 4 Big Eight......... 82.25
 5 Western Athletic.. 77.55
 6 I-A Independents.. 72.12
 7 Pacific-10........ 70.83
 8 Big East.......... 70.68
 9 Southwest......... 64.10
10 Mid-Amerrican..... 54.50
11 Big West.......... 50.39
---------------------------
DIVISION I-A          77.27
---------------------------
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Division I-AA conferences and independent groups by percentage of capacity
 
                     Percent
 1 Southern.......... 76.49
 2 Big Sky........... 62.82
 3 Southwestern...... 62.15
 4 Mid-Eastern....... 59.48
 5 Southland......... 56.57
 6 Yankee............ 56.49
 7 Gateway........... 54.18
 8 Ohio Valley....... 50.19
 9 Patriot League.... 44.16
10 I-AA Independents. 40.31
11 Ivy League........ 26.77
---------------------------
DIVISION I-AA         52.53
---------------------------
 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
-- 
Jon_Schmidt@stortek.com  Storage Technology Corporation
(303) 673-3581 - voice   2270 South 88th Street
(303) 673-6039 - fax     Louisville, Colorado 80028-5209
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college