100 Days of MSU Football - Day 36

100 Days of MSU Football - Day 36

Yes, only 36 days remaining until the season kicks off!

Today we discuss attendance at Davis Wade Stadium. With the expansion of the football stadium as well as the success of the program, State's home attendance has improved greatly over the past several seasons. I remember going to games in college where we'd be lucky to have 40,000 there, and now there is consistently 55,000+ every Saturday rocking the confines of DWS. Last season was no different, as State continued its home sellout streak and fans poured into the stadium at record numbers for each and every home game.

In 2011, Mississippi State averaged a home attendance of 55,949 for the 6 home games we played. That was good enough for a 36th overall in the NCAA. To have a stadium the size we have, I'd say that's a pretty good place to rank. To give you an idea of the top 10, Michigan - #1 in average attendance - averaged 112,000+ over 8 home games, and #10 Texas A&M averaged 87,183.

There is some fallacy to these numbers though I believe - Ole Miss ranked two spots ahead of us with an average of 56,488. Obviously, those were paid attendances, or at least certainly counted before halftime.

To give you an idea of how far we've come - in 2006, State ranked 53rd overall with an average attendance of 41,527.

Look for State to make an even further climb up those rankings in years to come as we expand in the north endzone and season ticket sales numbers continue to rise in the Dan Mullen era.