COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - For the 15th time in the last 16 seasons and 20th time overall, Saint John's University led NCAA Division III in football attendance in 2016.
SJU averaged 7,787 fans per game over the course of the season, with a six-game total of 46,719 fans. Collegeville was the premier location for Division III, beating out second-place Wisconsin-Whitewater by an average of 2,069 spectators per game. The closest MIAC team to SJU was Concordia-Moorhead, which finished sixth, and totaled 21,964 fewer fans in one less game overall and 2,836 fewer fans than SJU on average.
The Johnnie totals were aided by the annual SJU-St. Thomas game, which took place in front of an announced crowd of 16,514 on Sept. 24 in Clemens Stadium. The crowd was the third-largest recorded football attendance in NCAA Division III history to last year's Johnnie-Tommie game, an announced crowd of 17,327 in Collegeville. Wisconsin-Whitewater broke the record with 17,535 in its home game against Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Oct. 8. The 2016 installment of the Johnnie-Tommie game attracted more fans than the cumulative season totals for 221 teams in Division III, 102 teams in Division II, and 19 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs.
SJU's cumulative total of 46,719 fans was greater than 89 FCS teams and one Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team, Ball State. Only six of the 172 Division II programs attracted more fans at home.
The Johnnies ended the 2016 season ranked No. 9 nationally and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs for the third consecutive year, finishing with a 10-2 overall record (7-1 MIAC).
Other National Leaders
FBS: Michigan (110,468 per game)
FCS: Montana (25,377 per game)
Division II: Grand Valley State (12,549)
2016 NCAA Division III Football Attendance Leaders
| No. |
School |
Gms. |
Total |
Avg. |
| 1. |
Saint John's |
6 |
46,719 |
7,787 |
| 2. |
UW-Whitewater |
9 |
51,459 |
5,718 |
| 3. |
Wabash (Ind.) |
4 |
22,049 |
5,512 |
| 4. |
Wesleyan (Conn.) |
4 |
21,119 |
5,280 |
| 5. |
Hampden-Sydney (Va.) |
4 |
20,500 |
5,125 |
| 6. |
Concordia-Moorhead |
5 |
24,755 |
4,951 |
| 7. |
Maryville (Tenn.) |
4 |
19,738 |
4,935 |
| 8. |
McDaniel (Md.) |
4 |
19,567 |
4,892 |
| 9. |
Emory & Henry (Va.) |
5 |
22,733 |
4,547 |
| 10. |
Geneva (Pa.) |
5 |
22,119 |
4,424 |
2016 SJU vs. FCS/Division II Schools in Upper Midwest
| No. |
School |
NCAA |
Gms. |
Total |
Avg. |
| 1. |
North Dakota State |
FCS |
9 |
167,002 |
18,556 |
| 2. |
South Dakota State |
FCS |
7 |
96,268 |
13,753 |
| 3. |
Northern Iowa |
FCS |
5 |
60,613 |
12,123 |
| 4. |
North Dakota |
FCS |
6 |
59,665 |
9,944 |
| 5. |
South Dakota |
FCS |
5 |
44,174 |
8,835 |
| 6. |
Saint John's |
III |
6 |
46,719 |
7,787 |
| 7. |
Northern State (S.D.) |
II |
5 |
26,253 |
5,251 |
| 8. |
Augustana (S.D.) |
II |
5 |
24,734 |
4,947 |
| 9. |
MSU-Mankato |
II |
6 |
25,164 |
4,194 |
| 10. |
Minnesota-Duluth |
II |
6 |
24,917 |
4,153 |
2016 MIAC Football Attendance Leaders
| No. |
School |
Gms. |
Total |
Avg. |
| 1. |
Saint John's |
6 |
46,719 |
7,787 |
| 2. |
Concordia-Moorhead |
5 |
24,755 |
4,951 |
| 3. |
Bethel |
5 |
21,004 |
4,201 |
| 4. |
St. Thomas |
8 |
25,042 |
3,130 |
| 5. |
Gustavus Adolphus |
5 |
10,154 |
2,031 |
| 6. |
Hamline |
6 |
9,884 |
1,647 |
| 7. |
Carleton |
5 |
7,395 |
1,479 |
| 8. |
St. Olaf |
5 |
6,885 |
1,377 |
| 9. |
Augsburg |
4 |
4,611 |
1,153 |
