FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State Men’s Basketball ranked among the top five nationally in attendance for the third consecutive year in 2015-16 as the NCAA official basketball attendance numbers were released on Tuesday (June 7). FHSU ranked fifth nationally in 2015-16, averaging 2,471 fans per game and was one of three NCAA Division II schools to have more than 40,000 total fans attend home contests (joining Northern State and Augustana).
Northern State (S.D.) was the national leader once again in 2015-16, averaging 3,346 fans per game. National champion Augustana (S.D.) had an average of 2,726 fans watch its home contests to rank second for the second straight year. Midwestern State (Texas) was third at 2,553 fans per game, seeing a jump of 587 fans per game from last year, and fellow MIAA school Nebraska-Kearney was fourth at 2,539 fans per game, also seeing a healthy jump of 521 fans per game. Four of the top five schools in attendance are from the Central Region in NCAA Division II, with Midwestern State as the only exception among the top five.
Fort Hays State ranked third nationally in each of the previous two years, but continued its run of averaging more than 2,000 fans per game for the eighth consecutive season. The Tigers have been among the top 10 nationally in attendance for seven consecutive seasons, going back to 2009-10.
The large crowds at Gross Memorial Coliseum once again created a home-court advantage helping the Tigers to a 15-2 record on their floor in 2015-16. The coliseum is annually one of the toughest venues on opponents, where FHSU has a record of 338-53 since joining NCAA Division II, winning 86.4 percent of its games. The overall record for FHSU at the coliseum of 572-106 is equally as impressive, winning 84.4 percent of its games. The Tigers have reached at least 10 home wins in 38 of 43 seasons in the coliseum. FHSU has went undefeated at home four times in that span.
The Tigers won at least 12 games at home for the ninth-consecutive year, playing an average of 15 contests per year at home in that run. In the school’s 25-year NCAA Division II history, the Tigers have produced at least 11 wins at home in all but two seasons.
The Tigers helped the MIAA lead the nation once again in attendance as a conference. The average attendance at MIAA schools in 2015-16 was 1,419. The Lone Star Conference was second at 1,267 fans per game.