Tennessee is leading the pack when it comes to joint football-basketball attendance, highlighting the strong advantage that is the Tennessee fanbase when games are played in Knoxville.
The Vols boast one of the biggest football stadiums and one of the biggest basketball arenas in the country, but it boils down to actually putting fans in the stands on a weekly basis for this category. The bigger the stadium, the harder it can be to fill up to capacity.
Author and strategy consultant Tony Altimore posted a good look at the joint chart on Sunday morning featuring FBS football programs and major men’s basketball teams.
While there are four basketball programs and three football programs with a higher average attendance, no one has a higher combined number than Tennessee. And, frankly, it’s not even close.
Do you see that little yellow dot in the top right corner of the graph? That’s Tennessee.
CROWD SIZE:
FOOTBALL vs. BASKETBALL
🏈 🆚 🏀Check out how this season's football crowds compare to YTD basketball crowds:
It's interesting to see how some schools stand out (especially the "Big 3:" #B1G, #SEC, + #ACC), but also how many are closely clustered together in both. pic.twitter.com/aW5Ci1kJIA
— Tony Altimore (@TJAltimore) January 7, 2024
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What’s also interesting from the Tennessee side of things is that the Vols’ basketball home slate has not ramped up in the slightest yet. Altimore posted the chart on Sunday morning, so it’s hard to say whether that included the sell-out crowd from the Ole Miss game on Saturday night. Regardless, though, Tennessee’s home slate this season has consisted of Tennessee Tech, Wofford, George Mason, Illinois, Georgia Southern, Tarleton State, and Norfolk State.
It’s not hard to believe that Tennessee’s basketball attendance is going to considerably rise by the end of the regular season with home games against Florida, Alabama, LSU, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Auburn, and Kentucky still looming. The Vols are currently on the heels of Syracuse, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Arkansas and could make a strong move up here in the next few weeks.
The Vols have sold out two of their eight home games this year (vs Illinois, vs Ole Miss) with the latter going above capacity at 21,932 fans in the stands. Here’s a look at how Tennessee’s home basketball schedule has shaken out so far:
| Tennessee Tech | 17,046 |
| Wofford | 16,859 |
| George Mason | 16,513 |
| No. 20 Illinois | 21,678 |
| Georgia Southern | 16,013 |
| Tarleton State | 17,609 |
| Norfolk State | 16,858 |
| No. 22 Ole Miss | 21,932 |
Tennessee Football sold out all seven true home games this season with 101,915 spectators in their seats.
Tennessee’s athletic department has done a great job of promoting games for fans to see this season. But, as previously mentioned, it takes a fanbase that is willing to get up and go to a noon football game or a Tuesday night basketball game to achieve a statistic like this. It’s not surprising, either. The Vols’ fanbase is hungry for success and will do what it takes to see their teams play in Knoxville.
Tennessee men’s basketball will return to the court in Knoxville on Tuesday, Jan. 16, for a matchup against the Florida Gators. The Vols will have two road games in the meantime, this Wednesday at Mississippi State and this Saturday at Georgia.
Hat tip to Tony Altimore for the easy-to-read graphic on X.
