UConn Huskies Rank 40th in Attendance for 2015-16 Season

The NCAA recently released official attendance figures for the 2015-16 men's basketball season.

UConn averaged 10,413 fans per home contest, about 200 less than last season's average of 10,687. Over the course of 17 home games in Hartford and Storrs, 177,027 total supporters watched the Huskies in person.

These attendance figures ranked the Huskies 40th in the nation. UConn hasn't cracked the top 30 since 2011-2012 when they were ranked 26th in the country. Once again, these numbers are very disappointing for a school that considers itself among basketball's elite. Dayton, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas State, UNLV are just a few examples of schools that have surpassed the Huskies in attendance.

This drop can quite easily be attributed to the new opponents on UConn's conference schedule. Fans across Connecticut are not intrigued by a match-up with Tulane on a week night, or inclined to see East Carolina at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies have attempted to combat those feelings with a competitive non-conference schedule. The Huskies sold out their home court five times this season, three of those sellouts were against out of conference opponents. Tulsa and UCF (on Senior Night) were the only two AAC home opponents which drew a sellout.

In the future, attendance figures for the Huskies may continue to dip. UConn plays some of its most exciting match-ups outside the state of Connecticut. This includes road contests against Georgetown and Ohio State, Syracuse at Madison Square Garden, and opponents at the Maui Invitational to be determined.

Atop the attendance rankings was Kentucky, drawing an average of 23,361 fans for 17 home games at Rupp Arena. Old Big East foe Syracuse came in at number two, drawing 21,592 fans per game at the Carrier Dome. Rounding out the top five was Louisville, North Carolina, and Maryland respectively.

The Memphis Tigers lead the American Athletic Conference in attendance once more despite a lackluster 2015-16 campaign. They averaged 12,028 fans per game, good for 30th in country. After UConn and Memphis attendance dips considerably:

1. Memphis (12,028)

2. UConn (10,413)

3. Cincinnati (9,415)

4. SMU (6,907)

5. Temple (6,373)

6. Tulsa (4,745)

7. Central Florida (4,513)

8. East Carolina (4,444)

9. Houston (3,705)

10. South Florida (3,098)

11. Tulane (1,799)