The University of Minnesota ranked 45th in the nation for football attendance last year out of 244 schools that play Division I football. The Gophers had an average of 49,513 per game last year, which ranked eighth in the Big 10. The top three schools in the nation were all from the Big 10 with Michigan (112,000), Ohio State (105,000) and Penn State (104,000) each doubling Minnesota’s attendance.
It’s not likely that the Gophers will move up in the rankings as TCF Bank Stadium is only designed to hold about 51,000 and attendance at last Saturday’s home opener against New Mexico State only drew out 48,807 fans.
The Southeastern Conference had more attendees then any other conference with eleven of their schools surpassing the 50,000 mark. The Big 12 and Big 10 were second with seven schools above 50,000 fans per game.
