One million, two hundred and thirty-four thousand, eight hundred and forty-three.
That’s a pretty lofty number, huh?
According to Tennessee Athletics, a total of 1,234,843 fans attended 41 regular-season home games in Knoxville this past year across three sports – football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball.
Tennessee’s 1,234,843 fans led the nation in both cumulative attendance and average attendance. This is the second straight year that UT has won the award and is a solid improvement on last year’s 1,161,218 number.
Michigan landed in second place behind Tennessee, yet the Wolverines were still more than 99,000 fans behind the Volunteers. Tennessee and Michigan were two of just six schools that achieved the million-plus mark, alongside Ohio State, LSU, South Carolina, and Texas.
According to UT Sports, Tennessee was the “lone school in America to average over 30,000 fans per game across the three sports during the regular season, notching a 30,118 mark.”
Football led the way with a total of 713,405 fans across seven regular season games, which ranked sixth nationally. Tennessee sold out each of its seven football games last fall for an average attendance of 101,915.
Men’s basketball put Tennessee over the million mark with 340,436 fans in 17 home games on Rocky Top this past season. Tennessee ranked third in the country with 20,026 fans per game and hosted eight sellouts, including thrilling moments such as Jahmai Mashack’s buzzer-beater to defeat Alabama and the emotional Senior Day presentation featuring guard Zakai Zeigler.
Tennessee fans showed their support for Kim Caldwell’s debut Lady Volunteers team with 181,002 fans in 17 home games from the Food City Center, ranking fourth in the nation despite having a brand new coach. There were many exciting moments in Caldwell’s inaugural year, such as her return to the home court after giving birth to her son, Conor Scott, but perhaps none were as memorable as the Lady Vols’ win over rival and future National Champion UConn in Caldwell’s first meeting with Geno Auriemma.
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Here’s a look at the overall program attendance rankings (football + MBB + WBB), via UT Sports:
COMBINED FOOTBALL/MEN’S BASKETBALL/WOMEN’S BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON CUMULATIVE ATTENDANCE
1. Tennessee – 1,234,843 (41 GP)
2. Michigan – 1,135,302 (39 GP)
3. Ohio State – 1,131,137 (40 GP)
4. LSU – 1,047,596 (45 GP)
5. South Carolina – 1,025,396 (40 GP)
6. Texas – 1,025,089 (40 GP)
7. Nebraska – 943,564 (40 GP)
8. Alabama – 943,369 (37 GP)
9. Texas A&M – 937,105 (39 GP)
10. Penn State – 921,923 (40 GP)
COMBINED FOOTBALL/MEN’S BASKETBALL/WOMEN’S BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON AVERAGE ATTENDANCE
1. Tennessee – 30,118
2. Michigan – 29,110
3. Ohio State – 28,278
4. South Carolina – 25,635
5. Texas – 25,627
6. Alabama – 25,497
7. Texas A&M – 24,028
8. Auburn – 23,953
9. Nebraska – 23,589
10. LSU – 23,280
