ANN ARBOR, MI - SEPTEMBER 22: The student section looks on while the Michigan Wolverines play the Nebraska Cornhuskers on September 22, 2018 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)Attendance is an issue across the college football landscape. Programs all across the country are trying to figure out how to get fans in the door, and keep them there through the fourth quarter.
Not every team faces that same struggle, though. The Big Ten Conference is home to many of the biggest stadiums and most passionate home crowds in the sport.
With attendance numbers in for the 2019 season, four of the top 10 schools in terms of average attendance are from the Big Ten, including the top three schools overall.
The full top 10 in 2019 college football attendance, via 247Sports:
- Michigan Wolverines – Michigan Stadium – 111,459 avr. attendance
- Penn State Nittany Lions – Beaver Stadium – 105,678
- Ohio State Buckeyes – Ohio Stadium – 103,382
- Alabama Crimson Tide – Bryant-Denny Stadium – 101,115
- Texas A&M Aggies – Kyle Field – 101,542
- LSU Tigers – Tiger Stadium – 100,841
- Texas Longhorns – Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium – 96,305
- Georgia Bulldogs – Sanford Stadium – 92,746
- Nebraska Cornhuskers – Memorial Stadium – 89,348
- Tennessee Volunteers – Neyland Stadium – 87,864
Even among these schools, some programs saw drops. Alabama’s average attendance fell by a few hundred per year, Texas was down about 1,400 fans per game, and Tennessee saw a big drop, falling from nearly 93,000 to under 88,000.
Ohio State and Texas A&M saw the biggest increases on the year, with Ohio State’s average attendance going up by 1,435 per game, and the Aggies’ attendance increasing by 1,698 per game.
Nebraska, which has perhaps the most passionate fan base in college football, was the only program to crack the top 10 with a record under .500. The Huskers have an incredible streak of sold out home games dating back to 1962.
