The Southeastern Conference drew an average of 78,630 fans per home game during the 2015 football season to set an all-time conference attendance record.
It marked the 18th consecutive season in which the SEC led the nation in average football attendance, and the average surpassed the previous record of 77,694 that was set in 2014. The SEC drew more than 7.7 million fans to its games in 2015.
The Big Ten (66,008), Big 12 (57,347) Pac-12 (51,880) and Atlantic Coast (49,033) conferences rounded out the top five conferences in attendance.
The average attendance in all Football Bowl Subdivision games, however, dropped slightly to 43,933 when compared to the average attendance of 44,603 in 2014.
Division I FBS Attendance Leaders (Average)
1. Michigan 110,168
2. Ohio State 107,244
3. Texas A&M 103,622
4. LSU 102,004
5. Alabama 101,112
6. Tennessee 100,584
7. Penn State 99,799
8. Georgia 92,746
9. Florida 90,065
10. Texas 90,035
Michigan led the nation in average attendance with 110,168 fans entering the turnstiles for their seven home games. The Wolverines have led the nation in individual average game attendance for all but one year since 1974 – in 2014, Ohio State (106,296) and Texas A&M (105,123) surpassed them.
Other football attendance highlights
- More than 1.7 million fans attended bowl games last season, an average of 43,817 per game. That represents a decline of 555 fans per game when compared to 2014.
- The total attendance for the Division I Football Championship Subdivision tournament was 258,066 for an average of 11,220 fans over 23 games. The Division II tournament drew 111,853 fans for an average of 4,143 over 27 games. And the Division III tournament attracted 66,834 for an average of 2,156 over 31 games.
- The overall attendance for NCAA football games in all three divisions dropped to 49,057,966 in 2015. That total declined 546,416 from the previous year.
- Grand Valley State led Division II in home attendance, drawing 74,187 fans for an average of 12,365 per game.
- Saint John’s (Minnesota) led Division III in attendance at 53,372 fans for an average of 7,625 per game.
- Temple showed the largest gain in attendance during the 2015 season. The Owls played in front of an average home crowd of 44,159, an increase of 20,789 per game.