July 18, 2017
Gamecock Nation made its presence felt once again last year, filling up South Carolina’s home venues in record numbers. For the eight sports in which the Gamecocks compete that the NCAA keeps attendance statistics, South Carolina ranked in the top 25 nationally in seven of those sports for average attendance – the most of any school in the country.
“Our fans are the greatest,” Athletics Director Ray Tanner said. “It doesn’t matter the sport or the venue, Gamecock fans get loud in supporting our teams. I hear from our student-athletes how much they appreciate it. Seven of our teams ranked in the Top 25, and four were in the Top 10 in average attendance last year. That says so much about how super our fans are.”
Overall, South Carolina had eight sports ranked in the top 50 nationally for attendance. The Gamecocks led the nation in women’s basketball for the third straight year, ranked third in women’s soccer, fifth in baseball, eighth in men’s soccer, 11th in softball, 17th in football, 21st in men’s basketball, and 41st in volleyball.
“Home court advantage is a key ingredient to any successful championship,” said head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley. “The fans become an extension of the team, generate momentum, and are always there to show their support.”
Their unwavering loyalty and support helped prepare us to compete on the biggest national stage and come out as champions.
Dawn Staley
South Carolina was the only school to have men’s (13,396) and women’s (12,853) basketball programs each average more than 10,000 attendance per game.
“As I was paying attention in trying to figure out how to build our fan base in men’s basketball, it was very clear to me that our fan base cares about our school,” said men’s basketball head coach Frank Martin. “As I attended different sports and saw the way they were supported by our fans, I knew that as we built our program, our fans would show up for us, too. It’s no surprise that over the last two years our home record has been as good as it has been, and we’ve set school records for wins and have also set attendance records for men’s basketball at South Carolina.”
“Our fans at South Carolina have created an invaluable atmosphere for our team,” Staley said. “What separates us is that our fans have rooted for us for years, even before the championships. They consider our team their family. They not only support us in the stands, but also our brand. Their unwavering loyalty and support helped prepare us to compete on the biggest national stage and come out as champions.”
South Carolina was also one of only two schools in the nation to be ranked in the Top 10 in attendance for both men’s and women’s soccer.
South Carolina Athletics Attendance Rankings (2016-2017):
– Women’s Basketball led the nation for the third straight year
– Women’s Soccer ranked 3rd nationally and 2nd in the SEC (2,729 per home game)
– Baseball finished 5th nationally and in the SEC (avg. 7,177 per home game)
– Men’s Soccer led Conference USA and ranked 8th nationally (avg. 2,458 per home game)
– Softball finished 11th nationally and was 1 of 9 SEC schools in the top 16 (avg. 1,398 per home game)
– Football ranked 17th nationally and was 1 of 10 SEC schools in the top 25 (avg. 76,920 per home game)
– Men’s Basketball ranked 4th in the SEC and 21st nationally
– Volleyball finished 3rd in the SEC and 41st nationally (avg. 1,094 per home match)
