Lady Blues lead Division II in attendance
Aug. 3, 2006

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- The Washburn Lady Blues led NCAA Division II in attendance with an average attendance of 2,764 per game. That total was the 39th highest in all of NCAA Women's Basketball and only 110 per game behind Kansas, who ranked 37th in Division I attendance per game.

The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association led Division II in attendance for the 2005-06 season, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced this week.

Thanks to an increase of 10,049 fans from the previous season's total of the MIAA's nine member schools in 2005-06, the conference averaged 1,468 fans per game -- a total of 185,047 fans witnessed women's basketball action over 126 games. The average is up 210 from the 2004-05 mark.

The conference was one of two in Division II to average at least 1,000 fans per game -- the North Central Conference averaged 1,047 to place second.

The MIAA also can boast of the ninth-best attendance average in all of NCAA women's basketball. The 1,468 fans per game is better than all but eight Division I leagues.

"We are fortunate to have so many loyal fans who support women's basketball," MIAA commissioner Ralph McFillen said. "It's a tribute to the high quality of student-athletes, in their actions on and off the court, which our schools are able to recruit and attract."

Two schools led the way for the conference. Washburn averaged 2,764 fans to keep the Division II attendance title within the MIAA. Last season's leader, Emporia State, was third behind WU and Northern (S.D.) State (2,728) with an average of 2,684.

WU and ESU also rank among the top 50 schools overall in NCAA attendance -- the Lady Blues were 39th and the Lady Hornets ranked 44th. They joined Missouri State (13th -- 6,341), Kansas State (14th -- 6,281) and Kansas (37th --2,874) among area schools in the top 50.

MIAA newcomer Fort Hays State averaged 1,607 fans in its final season as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, ranking 10th in Division II last season.

2005-06 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance

All Divisions
Conference Avg.
1. Big 12........... 4,980
2. Big Ten.......... 4,697
3. SEC.............. 4,061
4. Big East......... 2,869
5. ACC.............. 2,845
6. Mountain West.... 2,631
7. Missouri Valley.. 2,226
8. Pac-10........... 2,160
9. MIAA............. 1,468
10. WAC.............. 1,305

Division II
Conference Avg.
1. MIAA............. 1,468
2. North Central.... 1,047
3. CIAA............. 799
4. Northern Sun..... 768
5. Lone Star........ 748
6. Gulf South....... 615
7. GLVC............. 544
8. RMAC............. 515
9. SIAC............. 473
10. GLIAC............ 468

Top 50 NCAA Institutions

Institution Avg.
1. Tennessee....... 15,356
2. Texas Tech...... 11,935
3. Connecticut..... 11,521
4. New Mexico...... 10,354
5. Minnesota....... 8,329
6. Baylor.......... 7,717
7. Iowa State...... 7,667
8. Oklahoma........ 7,630
9. Purdue.......... 7,264
10. Michigan State.. 6,787
11. Notre Dame...... 6,601
12. Penn State...... 6,493
13. Missouri State.. 6,341
14. Kansas State.... 6,281
15. Louisiana St.... 6,273
16. Duke............ 6,073
17. Wisconsin....... 6,016
18. Texas........... 5,636
19. Ohio State...... 5,261
20. Kentucky........ 5,161
21. Maryland........ 4,813
22. Rutgers......... 4,609
23. Vanderbilt...... 4,106
24. Georgia......... 4,073
25. Iowa............ 3,920
26. Virgina Tech.... 3,871
27. Montana......... 3,855
28. Old Dominion.... 3,853
29. Indiana State... 3,815
30. North Carolina.. 3,707
31. Oregon.......... 3,686
32. Texas A&M....... 3,598
33. Stanford........ 3,447
34. Nebraska........ 3,201
35. Louisiana Tech.. 3,079
36. Virginia........ 2,922
37. Kansas.......... 2,874
38. Washington...... 2,859
39. Washburn*....... 2,764
40. Fresno State.... 2,738
41. Illinois........ 2,734
42. Northern St.*... 2,728
43. DePaul.......... 2,715
44. Middle Tenn. St. 2,699
45. Emporia State*.. 2,684
46. No. Carolina St. 2,554
47. Louisville...... 2,520
48. Toledo.......... 2,467
49. Arkansas State.. 2,434
50. Arkansas........ 2,419

Source: NCAA. Division II institutions noted with an asterisk.