BTN.com staff, July 6, 2015
It is no secret, Big Ten fans love their basketball.
Here's the latest proof: The Big Ten Conference led the nation in attendance (3,195,137) during the 2014-15 season, according to data released Monday by the NCAA.
For some perspective, the total is the second-highest number in history, trailing the 16-team Big East Conference's 3,259,992 in 2006-07.
Four Big Ten teams finished in the top 10 of all-games attendance, paced by Big Ten champion and national runner-up Wisconsin, which finished second (711,115 fans) behind Kentucky (845,594), which was chasing a perfect season until the Badgers topped the Wildcats in the national semifinals.
Michigan State finished No. 5 in total attendance (616,547), while Indiana came in at No. 9 (521,870) fans, and Ohio State rounded out the top 10 (507,711).
The Big Ten also led all conferences in average attendance with 12,781 fans, the 39th consecutive season it has held that claim. Following the Big Ten was the ACC (11,368), SEC (10,819), Big 12 (10,181) and Big East (9,853).
Wisconsin ranked fifth in the country in average home attendance, bringing in an average of 17,279 fans per game. Indiana averaged 16,288 fans per contest, which was good for eighth in the nation, while Nebraska had the 10th highest average home attendance rate with 15,569 fans.
Penn State saw the Big Ten's largest increase in fan attendance from last season, going from 6,257 to 8,044, an increase of 1,787 fans, good enough for No. 5 in the nation.
