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NCAA basketball attendance declines slightly in 2015-16

Marcus Lee and Kentucky led the nation in average attendance at home games last season. (James Crisp / Associated Press)
Marcus Lee and Kentucky led the nation in average attendance at home games last season. (James Crisp / Associated Press)

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA says attendance at men’s college basketball games declined slightly last season.

Total attendance in all three NCAA divisions was 32,382,283, the 10th-highest total in history. The per-game average dropped by 25 from 2014-15.

Fewer fans also attended Division I games, dropping to 27,234,610. And though the NCAA tournament attracted 703,854 fans, it was well off the tourney record of 800,377 from 2012-13.

The Big Ten Conference drew the highest number of fans, with slightly more than 3.1 million attending games and 11 of 14 schools averaged more than 10,000 per game.

Kentucky’s average crowd of 23,361 was the nation’s highest, dethroning reigning two-time champion Syracuse. Kentucky and Syracuse were followed by Louisville and North Carolina. Maryland had the largest average increase at 5,169 per game.