KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee basketball's season may have been cut short, but they still had an extraordinary season! At least, that's what most Vol fans seem to think.
More fans went to Thompson-Boling Arena for men's and women's basketball games than any other school in the U.S., according to a press release from the University of Tennessee Athletics. A total of 461,146 fans showed up at both Vols and Lady Vols home games.
That's 33,077 more fans in attendance that the number two school — the University of Kentucky. Tennessee also sold more season tickets than 11 Divison I men's basketball programs, at 15,551.
The men's basketball program hosted two games that were filled to capacity during their season: the Wisconsin game and the Memphis showdown. Two other home games attracted crowds larger than 21,000 — Kentucky and Auburn.
Just one season ago, the Lady Vols did not manage to attract a crowd of more than 10,000 people. This season though, they beat expectations and had three games that brought in five-figure numbers, packing the stadium. They ended up reaching the quarterfinals in the SEC tournament in early March.