Fort Hays State Men’s Basketball Ranks Fifth Nationally for Attendance in 2009-10
The attendance leaders for the 2009-10 men’s basketball season were released by the NCAA. Fort Hays State ranked fifth nationally in attendance for Division II, averaging 2,901 fans at each home game. The Tigers were one of five schools from the MIAA in the top 20. All four of the schools from Kansas in the MIAA were in the top 20.
The Tigers virtually matched Central Missouri in attendance this year, averaging just two fans less per game. The Mules averaged 2,903 fans per game, good for fourth nationally. The Tigers edged Morehouse for the fifth spot (2,900), averaging just one more fan per game.
Fort Hays State and Central Missouri were the top two teams in the MIAA standings last year and resided in the national rankings for the majority of the season. Fort Hays State ranked as high as third in the nation at one point, while Central Missouri was No. 1 in the nation until the Tigers knocked them from that perch in the middle of the season. The Tigers and Mules helped the MIAA lead the nation in attendance as a conference once again. The average attendance for MIAA schools in 2009-10 was 1,691, 258 fans more than the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The MIAA averaged just 16 fans less per game than in 2008-09, while the NSIC saw a dip of 267 fans per game.
Below are the top 20 teams in attendance for 2009-10…
1. Northern State (S.D.) 3,414
2. Elizabeth City State (N.C.) 3,174
3. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 3,143
4. Central Missouri (Mo.) 2,903
5. Fort Hays State (Kan.) 2,901
6. Morehouse (Ga.) 2,900
7. Benedict (S.C.) 2,476
8. Midwestern State (Texas) 2,425
9. Dixie State (Utah) 2,312
10. Virginia State (Va.) 2,284
11. Augustana (S.D.) 2,233
12. Kentucky Wesleyan (Ky.) 2,195
13. Washburn (Kan.) 2,114
14. South Carolina-Aiken (S.C.) 2,085
15. Emporia State (Kan.) 1,953
16. Valdosta State (Ga.) 1,890
17. Missouri Western (Mo.) 1,866
18. Southern Indiana (Ind.) 1,780
19. Pittsburg State (Kan.) 1,752
20. Minnesota State (Minn.) 1,751