How many people show up? As a part of the CFN 2023 Five-Year Program Analysis, the attendance is a major factor. Here are the rankings from No. 1 to 133.
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College Football Attendance Rankings 2023
101-133 | 76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10
2022 Attendance Rankings 1 to 133
5-Year Conference Attendance Rankings
2022 Conference Attendance Rankings
Contact @ColFootballNews
Winning is everything.
Well, almost everything.
Putting fans in the stands is a more important measure of how successful a college program is, and not just as a show of support. Other college sports might be able to generate revenue, but football almost always carries the weight of an entire athletic department. Get the customers to show up, and everything flows from there.
2020 painfully showed just how true that all really is.
We didn’t do this after that season – there wasn’t enough attendance to rank – and we’re in a whole new world now.
Realignment plays a big role, media rights are everything, and there are new revenue streams for the players and coaches along with the programs. But attendance still matters for the schools, the surrounding businesses, and for the entire buzz of a college atmosphere.
So remember, some of the numbers are a bit off-kilter because some schools didn’t have fans in the stands in 2020. This reflects that.
Below are the rankings from 1 to 133, welcoming in Jacksonville State and Sam Houston to the FBS party, and including James Madison who made its debut last year.
Attendance is based on the average per game over the last five years, followed up by % capacity, followed by the average home attendance for every school last season.
133 Sam Houston
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 6,200.6
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 44.29%
2022 Average Attendance: 7,611
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 54.36%
132 Northern Illinois
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 7,493.40
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 31.76%
2022 Average Attendance: 9,198
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 38.98%
131 UMass
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 7,935.40
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 46.68%
2022 Average Attendance: 10,800
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 63.53%
130 Ball State
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 8,866.80
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 39.41%
2022 Average Attendance: 11,637
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 51.72%
129 FIU
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 9,207.20
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 46.04%
2022 Average Attendance: 14,888
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 74.44%
128 Charlotte
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 9,821.40
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 64.13%
2022 Average Attendance: 10,907
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 71.22%
127 Kent State
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 10,414.40
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 41.13%
2022 Average Attendance: 13,354
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 52.74%
126 Central Michigan
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 11,388.40
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 37.64%
2022 Average Attendance: 15,823
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 52.30%
125 Akron
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 11,606.00
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 38.69%
2022 Average Attendance: 11,199
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 37.33%
124 New Mexico State
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 11,689.80
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 38.53%
2022 Average Attendance: 14,993
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 49.41%
123 Bowling Green
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 11,752.60
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 48.97%
2022 Average Attendance: 11,664
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 48.60%
122 Miami University
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 11,761.60
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 48.43%
2022 Average Attendance: 15,065
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 62.03%
121 San Jose State
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 12,304.00
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 40.41%
2022 Average Attendance: 16,422
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 54.02%
120 Middle Tennessee
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 12,475.60
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 40.52%
2022 Average Attendance: 14,364
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 46.65%
119 ULM
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 12,570.40
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 41.31%
2022 Average Attendance: 13,380
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 43.97%
118 Coastal Carolina
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 12,612.60
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 60.10%
2022 Average Attendance: 17,168
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 82.85%
117 Eastern Michigan
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 12,708.20
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 42.08%
2022 Average Attendance: 15,186
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 50.28%
116 New Mexico
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 12,726.40
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 32.45%
2022 Average Attendance: 14,966
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 38.16%
115 Buffalo
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 12,956.60
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 44.66%
2022 Average Attendance: 14,857
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 51.21%
114 WKU
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 13,079.20
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 59.15%
2022 Average Attendance: 15,440
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 69.82%
113 Western Michigan
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 13,092.00
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 43.35%
2022 Average Attendance: 15,260
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 50.53%
112 Hawaii
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 13,469.20
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 585.11%*
2022 Average Attendance: 9,210
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 400.09%*
*Hawaii’s stadium capacity numbers are way off because the attendance in former Aloha Stadium still shows up in this for another two years.
111 Georgia State
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 13,741.00
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 54.96%
2022 Average Attendance: 16,023
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 64.09%
110 Ohio
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 13,859.00
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 57.75%
2022 Average Attendance: 17,692
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 73.72%
109 Georgia Southern
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 13,943.60
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 55.77%
2022 Average Attendance: 17,379
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 69.52%
108 Nevada
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 13,998.20
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 46.66%
2022 Average Attendance: 14,905
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 49.68%
107 Texas State
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 14,335.60
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 47.79%
2022 Average Attendance: 17,451
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 58.17%
106 Arkansas State
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 14,359.80
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 47.26%
2022 Average Attendance: 15,265
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 50.24%
105 Tulsa
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 14,392.20
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 47.97%
2022 Average Attendance: 18,745
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 62.48%
104 UTEP
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 14,619.80
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 28.12%
2022 Average Attendance: 19,134
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 36.80%
103 Liberty
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 14,798.20
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 59.19%
2022 Average Attendance: 20,954
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 83.82%
102 Old Dominion
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 14,813.00
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 65.89%
2022 Average Attendance: 20,232
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 90.00%
101 Louisiana Tech
2018-2022 Attendance Average: 15,001.60
5-Year Filled Stadium Capacity 52.52%
2022 Average Attendance: 15,082
2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 52.80%
College Football Attendance Rankings 2023
101-133 | 76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10
2022 Attendance Rankings 1 to 133
5-Year Conference Attendance Rankings
2022 Conference Attendance Rankings
