MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's women's basketball team ranked 27th nationally in attendance figures released this month by the NCAA for the 2007-08 season. The Blue Raiders have ranked in the Top 30 in the country in attendance the past two seasons.
Middle Tennessee averaged 4,150 fans per game last season for 12 home dates, ranking ahead of national powers Old Dominion and Texas A&M. The Blue Raiders drew two of the largest crowds in school history, including 7,858 against LSU and 6,968 versus rival Western Kentucky.
"It's just the beginning," head coach Rick Insell said. "With our great fan support we've gone from near the bottom into the Top 10 percent in all of women's basketball in just three years. We'll look to build on this during the upcoming season with the likes of Louisville and Alabama coming to Murphy Center in December."
Middle Tennessee ranked first in the Sun Belt in attendance, with Western Kentucky (2,745) and UALR (2,666) second and third, respectively.
The Blue Raiders were 26th in the nation in attendance in 2006-07, averaging 4,157 fans per game and ranking sixth in largest attendance increase. Middle Tennessee led the nation in attendance increase in 2005-06, ranking 42nd nationally in attendance with 2,699 per contest.
The 2008-09 squad opens the campaign November 15 in the Preseason WNIT versus Lafayette College at Murphy Center at 7 p.m.
2007-08 DIVISION I ATTENDANCE SUMMARY
Rk. School G Attend. Average
1. Tennessee 15 236,940 15,796
2. Connecticut 19 208,405 10,968
3. Oklahoma 13 129,527 9,963
4. Iowa State 17 159,592 9,387
5. Purdue 16 141,931 8,870
6. New Mexico 19 164,124 8,638
7. Texas Tech 19 162,552 8,555
8. Maryland 21 166,883 7,946
9. Notre Dame 16 112,253 7,015
10. Duke 13 87,748 6,749
11. Minnesota 15 98,937 6,595
12. Louisville 12 77,480 6,456
13. Michigan State 18 113,708 6,317
14. Baylor 18 112,953 6,275
15. Wisconsin 16 97,245 6,077
16. Texas 14 76,341 5,452
17. Vanderbilt 17 91,279 5,369
18. LSU 15 80,512 5,367
19. Penn State 16 82,549 5,159
20. Missouri State 14 72,218 5,158
21. North Carolina 18 92,565 5,142
22. Georgia 16 78,135 4,883
23. Kentucky 18 85,769 4,764
24. Rutgers 15 71,100 4,740
25. Wyoming 14 61,586 4,399
26. Kansas State 14 60,265 4,304
27. Middle Tennessee 13 53,951 4,150
28. Stanford 15 62,088 4,139
29. Montana 17 66,890 3,934
30. Ohio State 17 66,746 3,926
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