Though the season was a disappointing one on the court, UNC men’s basketball fans made history during 2022-23. The Tar Heels led the country in average attendance for the first time ever. A total of 298,344 fans turned out for 15 home games this season, which equals an average of about 19,890 fans per home game.
Top D-I men's basketball programs by attendance this season, via @NCAA: pic.twitter.com/ZzGvRTNId3
— Rachel Bachman (@Bachscore) March 19, 2023
Carolina topped Kentucky and Syracuse for the highest average attendance. Since 1977, the Wildcats and Orange are the only other schools to have led the country in average attendance. The NCAA first began tracking average attendance in 1970.
The high attendance was no doubt inspired by Carolina’s place atop the AP Poll as preseason No. 1, though the Tar Heels quickly fell out of the rankings on their way to becoming the first preseason No. 1 to ever miss the NCAA Tournament entirely.
UNC’s average attendance this season represents a slight uptick from last season, when an average of 18,536 fans came to the Smith Center for each home game. That figure ranked fourth in the country behind Syracuse, Kentucky and Arkansas. And though this is UNC’s first time at the top of the attendance rankings, overall numbers are still down from before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2019-20 season, the Tar Heels averaged more than 20,000 fans per home game, even while the team was struggling toward a last-place finish in the ACC.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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