April 12, 2008
Men's Division I Hockey Sets New Attendance Record
Nearly 4.5 Million Fans Attend Games This Season
by Mike Machnik/CHN Senior Editor
DENVER — Division I college hockey in the United States has never been more popular.
Going into Saturday's NCAA Championship meeting between Notre Dame and
Boston College, the cumulative attendance for all Division I teams was an incredible 4,440,333. That's the largest total in any single season.
The figure includes the 1,118 games involving at least one Division I team for which official attendance records were kept. A number of games, primarily exhibitions, with no official attendance are not included.
"It's great for our sport and great for the tournament," said Kristin Fasbender, Associate Director of Championships for the NCAA. "It only increases the zest for the sport throughout the season. We have a pretty extensive priority system for the tournament and we sell it out by August of each year.
"We're very excited about it and it bodes well for the future of college hockey."
The previous record was set in 2003-04, when total attendance was 4,399,170 in 1,143 games.
Average attendance before the final game this season is 3,971. That ranks second to 2006-07's average of 3,996.
Wisconsin once again leads the way among all Division I programs, averaging 14,133 in 18 home games.
Cumulative Attendance Records
1. 4,440,333 (2007-08, 1,118 games)
2. 4,399,170 (2003-04, 1,143 games)
3. 4,388,100 (2006-07, 1,098 games)
4. 4,323,398 (2002-03, 1,172 games)
5. 4,315,001 (2004-05, 1,144 games)
6. 4,223,468 (2005-06, 1,085 games)
(Source: CollegeHockeyStats.net)
Grand Forks must have done nearly 200k or so alone..... nice to see the popularity growing... now if only espn could cover some of the regular season across the country rather than butting their heads into it at the end when they don't belong!
Apr 15 2008, 10:28 am by Ryan, Grand Forks
Hey Ryan, popularity is growing - but pales in comparison to college basketball. The major networks and espn won't televise college hockey in place of college basketball for years to come (if ever). The ratings and the $$ aren't there, and they are smart business people. For some reason, people from ND think that just because college hockey is the biggest thing going for them, the same goes for the rest of the country - it just simply isn't true.
Apr 25 2008, 6:03 pm by Brian, Minneapolis
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