I keep track of attendance numbers for UTA and all conference mates in all team sports. I thought there might be some interest in sharing. I keep track of both per game average and total attendance. The teams are listed in per game average, then I add the ranking for total attendance to the right. If a team has a sport in another division (ie NMST football), it's not included in this list, but will at the end.

VOLLEYBALL
GCU 1,360 16,314(1)
UVU 982 11,785(3)
UTRGV 806 12,089(2)
UTA 767 9,973(4)
NMSU 748 7,477(5)
CBU 604 6,037(7)
SHSU 589 4,709(8)
ACU 545 4,361(10)
TSU 495 7,427(6)
SUU 413 4,126(11)
UT 358 3,577(12)
SFA 324 4,537(9)
SU 217 1,517(13)

WOMENS SOCCER
UVU 1172 11,721(1)
GCU 932 9,316(2)
TSU 725 5,799(4)
CBU 621 6,206(3)
NMSU 468 3,743(6)
SU 397 3,966(5)
SFA 387 3,097(7)
ACU 325 2,599(9)
UT 293 2,926(8)
SHSU 188 1,506(11)
UTRGV 163 1,793(10)
SUU 158 1,425(12)

MENS SOCCER
GCU 1,390 12,508(1)
UVU 1,131 5,653(3)
CBU 779 9,343(2)
SU 569 3,413(5)
UNLV 437 3,496(4)
SJSU 365 3286(6)
AF 278 1,390(9)
UT 244 1,707(8)
UTRGV 230 2,299(7)
HCU 93 841(10)

FOOTBALL
TSU 12,020 72,117(1)
SHSU 11,454 57,269(2)
SFA 8,292 41,461(3)
ACU 7,418 37,089(4)
SUU 4,805, 24,025(5)
UT 3,954 19,768(6)

WOMENS BASKETBALL
SFA 1,446 23,142(1)
GCU 889 15,113(2)
UTA 882 12,354(3)
NMSU 831 10,806(8)
TSU 828 11,597(4)
ACU 811 11,356(5)
UTRGV 793 11,096(7)
CBU 742 11,127(6)
UT 629 7,546(10)
SHSU 613 7,356(11)
SUU 586 8,200(9)
SU 386 5,014(12)
UVU 345 4,826(13)

MENS BASKETBALL
GCU 6,564 118,159(1)
NMSU 4,997 49,974(3)
CBU 3,326 56,536(2)
SFA 2,654 42,467(4)
UVU 2,514 37,716(5)
SUU 1,945 29,179(6)
SHSU 1,641 21,337(9)
UT 1,605 22,465(8)
TSU 1,564 20,333(11)
ACU 1,512 19,661(12)
UTA 1,454 20,353(10)
UTRGV 1,407 25,332(7)
SU 1,163 16,279(13)

SOFTBALL
NMSU 557 11,132(1)
UTA 417 9,178(4)
TSU 342 9,225(3)
SHSU 324 7,450(6)
ACU 295 5,303(7)
GCU 235 9,670(2)
CBU 229 8,681(5)
UT 182 4,008(8)
UVU 139 2,217(10)
SFA 129 2,326(9)
SU 99 1,981(11)
SUU 63 696(12)

BASEBALL
UTRGV 1623 45,451(1)
GCU 1312 38,056(2)
SHSU 811 21,901(3)
UVU 763 16,018(6)
NMSU 628 17,580(5)
ACU 562 19,653(4)
CBU 505 12,618(8)
TSU 445 12,909(7)
UT 439 11,861(9)
UTA 406 8,528(10)
SU 182 4,188(13)
SFA 180 4,500(12)
Sac St 178 5,159(11)

Now I add total attendance for all sports as well.

ACU 100,022 (7)
CBU 110,548 (6)
GCU 219,136 (1)
NMSU 190,668 (2)
SHSU 121,528 (5)
Seattle 36,358 (13)
SUU 60,387 (11)
SFA 121,530 (4)
TSU 139,407 (3)
UTA 59,280 (12)
UTRGV 98,060 (8)
Utah Tech 73,858 (10)
UVU 89,936 (9)

Additionally, when we were in the Sun Belt, football attendance dominated the number, as that accounted for 2/3rds of some Universities totals. So I factored out football and ranked the totals sans football.

ACU 62,933 (9)
CBU 110,548 (2)
GCU 219,136 (1)
NMSU 100,712 (3)
SHSU 64,259 (8)
Seattle 36,358 (13)
SUU 43,626 (12)
SFA 80,069 (6)
TSU 67,290 (7)
UTA 59,280 (10)
UTRGV 98,060 (4)
Utah Tech 54,090 (11)
UVU 89,936 (5)

I wanted to add my initial thoughts in a separate entry.

I'm amazed at how well UTRGV pulls overall, but especially in baseball. They have to be top 50 in the NCAA in that sport. I would be willing to bet that they will draw top half in the conference in football.

There's no doubt why CBU and GCU are on the West Coast Conference's radar. GCU draws more total than a lot of FBS schools. They would be fourth or fifth in the Sun Belt most years UTA was there, with the other school's football in the mix.

Conversely, there's no question why Seattle is not. In addition to most other factors pointed out, Gonzaga, California-based, etc, their numbers are anemic. In everything. They cracked the top ten in both soccers. Otherwise, it was double digit in per game average and total for every sport.

When people wonder why Southern Utah joined this conference, it is easy to see. Those in-state conference games really boosted their average. I don't know if Weber State boosted their average in the Big Sky, but it clearly bumped it up this year.

Thanks for compiling these numbers, as it looks like a lot of work! I'm surprised GCU Softball numbers are so low, given the season they had. Based on the small but loud and mighty group that rolled through the WAC Tournament last night, it's not hard to see or believe that the Vaquero fans are baseball hungry crowd.

SHSU FB attendance last year was at 7,611. Not sure where that other figure comes from, maybe includes NRG game?

Yes, I included that based on a couple of factors. It's played in Houston because of Sam, not SFA. It's a big draw as it is a rivalry game, but it is Sam's doing.

After I compiled the numbers, Sam announced they will host at least one game at NRG every year. They are going to need that to meet attendance expectations. SFA, meanwhile, has no plans to play there in the future.

FOOTBALL
TSU 12,020 72,117(1)
SHSU 11,454 57,269(2)
SFA 8,292 41,461(3)
ACU 7,418 37,089(4)
SUU 16,761 100,568(6)
UT 3,954 19,768(6)

Second what Gleadley said - thank you for putting this together.

"amazed at how well UTRGV pulls overall, but especially in baseball"

Well, only baseball and volleyball if we're being honest. For the baseball it's good weather, decent chance of a win, and over the top promos (example: last game was the debut of Los Vaqueros brand lager). For volleyball it's the 13-2 record at home and both the starters and the bench put on a good visual spectacle.

Sure, winning always helps. However, when UTA wins, we can get in the 600’s. You guys were trudging along a few games over .500 for a while and pulling in great crowds. There’s a way out there somewhere to look, but based on numbers from prior years, that number is top 50 in the NCAA. For a 30-26 overall year, that’s impressive.

As for basketball, the fieldhouse isn’t exactly spacious nor state of the art. There’s potential there.

Prior to the WAC, I was really only familiar with basketball. I knew their general average. At the beginning of the year, I would have said no if asked would UTRGV draw almost 100,000 without football and softball.

And thanks for the kudos. It does take a lot of time. But I compile the numbers at the conclusion of each sport. The WAC’s site is one of the most user friendly and helps, much easier than the Sun Belt’s BTW. Otherwise, I’d estimate it took a total of 10-15 hours.

Original post was edited to accurately reflect Southern Utah's football attendance. The WAC website didn't have two games for them, so the numbers were from a previous spreadsheet from the Sun Belt.

The Thunderbirds mens basketball team outdrew the football team in total attendance.

(05-25-2023 11:13 PM)edinburger Wrote:  Second what Gleadley said - thank you for putting this together.

"amazed at how well UTRGV pulls overall, but especially in baseball"

Well, only baseball and volleyball if we're being honest. For the baseball it's good weather, decent chance of a win, and over the top promos (example: last game was the debut of Los Vaqueros brand lager). For volleyball it's the 13-2 record at home and both the starters and the bench put on a good visual spectacle.

UTRGV's average of 1,623 would have been 43rd last year, ahead of Indiana's 1,601 and behind Baylor's 1,647.

I'd be interested in SUU's Women's Gymnastics attendance numbers. They have been a revenue sport there for over 20 years.

(05-25-2023 01:17 PM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  I wanted to add my initial thoughts in a separate entry.

I'm amazed at how well UTRGV pulls overall, but especially in baseball. They have to be top 50 in the NCAA in that sport. I would be willing to bet that they will draw top half in the conference in football.

There's no doubt why CBU and GCU are on the West Coast Conference's radar. GCU draws more total than a lot of FBS schools. They would be fourth or fifth in the Sun Belt most years UTA was there, with the other school's football in the mix.

Conversely, there's no question why Seattle is not. In addition to most other factors pointed out, Gonzaga, California-based, etc, their numbers are anemic. In everything. They cracked the top ten in both soccers. Otherwise, it was double digit in per game average and total for every sport.

When people wonder why Southern Utah joined this conference, it is easy to see. Those in-state conference games really boosted their average. I don't know if Weber State boosted their average in the Big Sky, but it clearly bumped it up this year.

GCU is not on the WCC’s radar. The WCC could be down to 2 schools and GCU would not be on their radar. Conversely, Seattle is on their radar. Btw, who is NMST?

A team that is similar to TXST in the Sun Belt, UTA’s home for the last nine years, and out the conference on July 1 and has no athletic events left in its long time home.

This thread makes it seems like a possibility of GCU being looked at by the WCC. I didn’t say it was eminent or even a probability. But given the fact they are competitive, draw well overall and especially in that conferences core sport and their budget is tops in this conference, higher than even FBS NMSU, the conference would be silly not to look at GCU.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-966658.html

(05-26-2023 07:43 AM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  This thread makes it seems like a possibility of GCU being looked at by the WCC. I didn’t say it was eminent or even a probability. But given the fact they are competitive, draw well overall and especially in that conferences core sport and their budget is tops in this conference, higher than even FBS NMSU, the conference would be silly not to look at GCU.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-966658.html

Yeah, but: https://www.google.com/finance/quote/LOP...cFegQIGBAc

(05-26-2023 07:09 AM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  A team that is similar to TXST in the Sun Belt, UTA’s home for the last nine years, and out the conference on July 1 and has no athletic events left in its long time home.

Excuse you sir, NMSU actually gets invited to bowl games and wins them! We are not the same!

One of 50 States followed by State in the University name. I’m old, give me a break. I could go back to SWT or Texas State-San Marcos…

(05-26-2023 07:04 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  

(05-25-2023 01:17 PM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  I wanted to add my initial thoughts in a separate entry.

I'm amazed at how well UTRGV pulls overall, but especially in baseball. They have to be top 50 in the NCAA in that sport. I would be willing to bet that they will draw top half in the conference in football.

There's no doubt why CBU and GCU are on the West Coast Conference's radar. GCU draws more total than a lot of FBS schools. They would be fourth or fifth in the Sun Belt most years UTA was there, with the other school's football in the mix.

Conversely, there's no question why Seattle is not. In addition to most other factors pointed out, Gonzaga, California-based, etc, their numbers are anemic. In everything. They cracked the top ten in both soccers. Otherwise, it was double digit in per game average and total for every sport.

When people wonder why Southern Utah joined this conference, it is easy to see. Those in-state conference games really boosted their average. I don't know if Weber State boosted their average in the Big Sky, but it clearly bumped it up this year.

GCU is not on the WCC’s radar. The WCC could be down to 2 schools and GCU would not be on their radar. Conversely, Seattle is on their radar. Btw, who is NMST?

I would agree they may not be the WCC's first or even third option, but asserting that GCU is not on their radar at all is probably a little hyperbolic.

Los Vaqueros lager with aka (Bronco956 cartoony lookalike can) easy pass. I can tell you why baseball pulls so much... there is no professional ball club in the region.

(05-25-2023 11:13 PM)edinburger Wrote:  Second what Gleadley said - thank you for putting this together.

"amazed at how well UTRGV pulls overall, but especially in baseball"

Well, only baseball and volleyball if we're being honest. For the baseball it's good weather, decent chance of a win, and over the top promos (example: last game was the debut of Los Vaqueros brand lager). For volleyball it's the 13-2 record at home and both the starters and the bench put on a good visual spectacle.

Same could be said for a lot of schools too. Factoring out P5 schools, UTRGV was likely top ten this year. I don't care about any factors or variables 1,600 average is impressive.

UTA has topped 1,600 at the home park only twice. We've done a bunch at whatever version of Rangers Stadium exists in that era, but only twice at Clay Gould Ballpark.