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MIAA Leads NCAA-II Women's Hoops Attendance for 2008-09
Four schools ranked in the top 10; conference ranked ninth among all NCAA leagues
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association captured its second NCAA Division II attendance title in four seasons with the figures released Tuesday (June 2).
The MIAA averaged 1,290 fans to its institutions' 146 games in 2008-09, with a total draw of 188,326 fans. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference was second with an average of 1,045 fans -- the MIAA and NSIC were the only conferences to average more than 1,000 fans per game.
The last time the MIAA led Division II in attendance was 2005-06.
The conference had four schools ranked in the top 10 in Division II, including two in the top five. Washburn was third with an average of 2,410 fans for 15 dates last season -- that figure trailed only Northern (S.D.) State (3,400) and St. Cloud (Minn.) State (3,097) of the NSIC among Division II schools.
Emporia State placed fourth with an average of 2,051 fans in 15 home dates, followed by North Dakota at 2,027. UND played as an independent this season as it transitions to NCAA Division I status.
Missouri Western ranked seventh with an average of 1,637 over 11 games, while Pittsburg State cracked the top 10 at No. 10 with an average of 1,412 for 13 home dates.
The MIAA is topped only by eight Division I conferences in average attendance this season, bringing in more fans than such circuits as the Summit League, the Atlantic 10 Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference.
"Women's basketball is obviously very popular in our area as evidenced by not just the numbers in Division II but Division I as well," MIAA commissioner Jim Johnson said. "It speaks to the high-quality product the MIAA schools are putting on the floor when fans come out in such numbers and allow us to rank at the top of all Division II conferences."
2008-09 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance
Division II by Total Games/ 2008-09
Conference Teams Sessions Attend. Avg.
1. MIAA 11 146 188,326 1,290
2. Northern Sun 14 193 201,717 1,045
3. Lone Star 15 193 134,417 696
4. Central Intercollegiate 10 118 81,095 687
5. Southern Intercollegiate 12 150 93,203 621
6. Great Lakes Valley 13 182 105,781 581
7. Peach Belt 11 150 82,634 551
8. Gulf South 15 205 110,910 541
9. Great Lakes Intercollegiate 12 162 85,340 527
10. Rocky Mountain 14 189 97,673 517
Division II by Institution G/S Attendance Avg.
1. Northern (S.D.) State [NSIC] 11 37,404 3,400
2. St. Cloud (Minn.) State [NSIC] 13 40,263 3,097
3. Washburn [MIAA] 15 36,156 2,410
4. Emporia State [MIAA] 15 30,761 2,051
5. North Dakota [Ind.] 13 26,351 2,027
6. Benedict (S.C.) [SIAC] 13 23,730 1,825
7. Missouri Western [MIAA] 11 18,002 1,637
8. Augustana (S.D.) [NSIC] 17 26,344 1,550
9. Minnesota State-Mankato [NSIC] 18 26,229 1,457
10. Pittsburg State [MIAA] 13 18,358 1,412
NCAA by Total Games/ 2008-09
Conference Teams Sessions Attend. Avg.
1. Big 12 12 202 1,073,069 5,312
2. Big Ten 11 173 725,510 4,194
3. Southeastern 12 195 744,585 3,818
4. Atlantic Coast 12 203 635,567 3,131
5. Big East 16 268 807,470 3,013
6. Mountain West 9 149 357,808 2,401
7. Pacific-10 10 151 322,351 2,135
8. Missouri Valley 10 149 287,350 1,929
9. MIAA (Division II) 11 146 188,326 1,290
10. Big Sky 9 125 160,640 1,285
Source: NCAA.
