Ad Disclosure

Final SEC attendance figures for 2016: 4 schools top 100,000 fans per home game
By John Hollis
Published:
Four SEC teams averaged more than 100,000 fans per home game in 2016, and football continues to be a major source of revenue for the conference, according to statistics released by the league office.
Overall, seven of the SEC’s 14 schools welcomed an average of at least 86,000 fans per home date, while 10 averaged at least 64,000.
Texas A&M was the biggest draw at home, averaging a league-high 101,917 in its seven contests at Kyle Field, edging second-place Alabama, which averaged 101,821 in seven games at Bryan-Denny Stadium.
LSU (101,231) ranked third with seven dates at Tiger Stadium, while Tennessee stood fourth (100,968) following seven contests at Neyland Stadium.
The Crimson Tide, Georgia (92,746) and Ole Miss (64,910), however, were the only conference teams to sell out at 100 percent capacity for every home game. The Rebels actually went over the stadium’s listed capacity of 64,038.
Florida was the only SEC team to list just five home games, as the Gators’ previously scheduled Oct. 8 matchup with LSU was canceled because of Hurricane Matthew and instead played in Baton Rouge on Nov. 19. Auburn enjoyed a league-high eight home games this fall.
Vanderbilt drew the fewest numbers, averaging just 31,242 fans in six games at Vanderbilt Stadium.
But the numbers also show that there could be cause for some concern, given that eight schools saw their attendance dip or remain the same from 2015.
Missouri, which has been mired with off-the-field controversies and poor play on the field, suffered the biggest drop, dipping from a 2015 home average of 65,120 fans to 52,236 this season. The 73.4 percent capacity in seven games at Memorial Stadium was a league-low.
Final NCAA statistics for this season have yet to be released, but the SEC drew an average of 77,631 fans for 94 home dates in 2016.
It averaged 78,630 in 2015 to set an all-time conference attendance record, marking the 18th consecutive season in which the conference led the nation in average football attendance.
The 2015 average surpassed the record of 77,694 in 2014.
Team | Games | Attendance | Average | 2015 avg. | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Texas A&M | 7 | 713,418 | 101,917 | 103,622 | 102,733 |
Alabama | 7 | 712,847 | 101,821 | 101,112 | 101,821 |
LSU | 7 | 708,618 | 101,231 | 93,441 | 102,321 |
Tennessee | 7 | 712,847 | 100,968 | 100,584 | 102,455 |
Auburn | 8 | 695,498 | 86,937 | 87,451 | 87,451 |
Georgia | 6 | 556,456 | 92,746 | 92,746 | 92,746 |
South Carolina | 7 | 538,441 | 76,920 | 78,822 | 80,250 |
Arkansas | 7 | 487,067 | 69,581 | 67,326 | 72,000 |
Ole Miss | 7 | 454,368 | 64,910 | 61,934 | 64,038 |
Florida | 5 | 439,229 | 87,846 | 90,065 | 88,548 |
Kentucky | 7 | 375,500 | 53,643 | 61,295 | 61,000 |
Missouri | 7 | 365,651 | 52,236 | 65,120 | 71,168 |
Mississippi State | 6 | 349,904 | 58,317 | 61,784 | 61,337 |
Vanderbilt | 6 | 187,451 | 31,242 | 32,134 | 40,350 |
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.