Northwestern’s average attendance rose 4 percent in 2016 when compared to 2015 but still finished 13th in the Big Ten, a report from CBS Sports shows.
The Wildcats averaged 34,798 fans per home game in 2016, filling 74 percent of Ryan Field’s capacity. Only Purdue (34,451 fans per home game) had a smaller attendance among Big Ten schools.
Here’s how every Big Ten school ranked:
Big Ten attendance 2016
School | 2016 Average | Change from 2015 | Stadium Capacity Filled (2016) |
---|---|---|---|
School | 2016 Average | Change from 2015 | Stadium Capacity Filled (2016) |
Michigan | 110,468 | Less than +1% | 103% |
Ohio State | 107,278 | Less than +1% | 105% |
Penn State | 100,257 | Less than +1% | 94% |
Nebraska | 90,200 | Less than +1% | 104% |
Wisconsin | 79,357 | 2% | 99% |
Michigan State | 74,667 | Less than +1% | 100% |
Iowa | 69,656 | 10% | 99% |
Illinois | 45,644 | 10% | 75% |
Rutgers | 44,804 | -6% | 85% |
Minnesota | 43,814 | -16% | 83% |
Indiana | 43,027 | -3% | 82% |
Maryland | 39,615 | -11% | 76% |
Northwestern | 34,798 | 4% | 74% |
Purdue | 34,451 | -8% | 60% |
Here are a couple interesting notes:
- Northwestern’s most well-attended home game was against Wisconsin (attendance: 42,016), which not only was on family weekend but also came on the heels of Northwestern’s close loss to Ohio State. The Wildcats would have been in a good spot to win the Big Ten West had they won (they lost 21-7).
- The Wildcats benefitted by having two night games: The win over Duke (34,464) and loss to Nebraska (40,284) were the fourth- and second-most attended home games, respectively. Of course, it also helps attendance-wise to host a team whose fanbase that travels as well as the Huskers’ do. The same can be said for Wisconsin.
- The least-attended game was the Illinois game (30,022) over Thanksgiving weekend.
- Among programs that weren’t filling their entire stadium, Northwestern was one of only two schools to post an increase over last year’s attendance totals. Interestingly, the only other school was Illinois, which had Lovie Smith at the helm for the first year. This reflects a trend across college football: Attendance totals fell for yet another year after peaking in 2008.