May 22, 2008 | Men's Basketball
For the eighth consecutive season, the Wisconsin men's basketball team ranked among the top 10 nationally in home attendance. Last year, the Badgers sold out every game at the Kohl Center and their average attendance of 17,190 was good for seventh in the country. For the fifth time in the last six seasons, UW led all Big Ten teams in home attendance.
'On behalf of the coaching staff and the players I would like to say thank you to our fans, the students, and the people of the city of Madison and the state of Wisconsin for their incredible support,' Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. 'It 's a great testament to the hard work and excitement our players bring to the court. I know everyone connected to our program, especially our players, realizes how special it is to be a part of the atmosphere at the Kohl Center on game days.'
Wisconsin has sold out 89 consecutive games at the Kohl Center. In each of the last five years, all UW home games have been sold out prior to the start of the season.
The Badgers also ranked fifth in the country in total overall attendance as 603,644 fans witnessed their 36 games. That figure includes all home, road and neutral site games. The only teams above Wisconsin in that category were Kansas, North Carolina, Memphis and Syracuse.
The top 10 in home attendance looked like this: Kentucky (22,554), North Carolina (20,497), Syracuse (20,345), Tennessee (20,267), Louisville (19,481), Maryland (17,950), Wisconsin (17,190), Arkansas (17,148), Indiana (16,876) and Memphis (16,748).
For the 32nd consecutive season, the Big Ten led all conferences in average attendance. The Big Ten's average of 12,978 fans per game/session was 838 more than the national runner-up (SEC ' 12,140). The NCAA's final attendance numbers and rankings include both regular-season and conference tournament attendance. The Big Ten also broke the two-million mark in total attendance for the 16th consecutive season as the conference welcomed 2,517,685 fans through the turnstiles in 194 games.
