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I’m going to repeat my headline because it warrants the repetition, but for the 13th consecutive year, the University of Iowa Wrestling program has led the NCAA in fan attendance.
The Hawkeyes amassed a total of 59,684 fans storming the gates of Carver Hawkeye-Arena for an average of 8,526.3 per event. Here’s a quick look at those amazing numbers.
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Mind you, we only had seven home duals this year and it wasn’t a particularly fun home schedule at that. We averaged 8,500+ fans without the alluring appeal of powerhouse programs like PSU, Michigan, OSU, or even OKST stepping foot in CHA. That’s an impressive feat.
In addition to the 13 years of excellence, this also marks the 11th year in a row of averaging 8,000+ fans per dual, per season. By the way, Tom and Terry Brands have officially been leading this program for 13 years. We’ve led the national in grapple-viewing for 13 years. I guess that means, well, you can guess: for each season TnT have been heading this program we’ve been the best at wrestling watching and that is something to be proud of.
So what does this mean?
It means we still have the best fans in the world. It means that we’re still putting a quality team on the mat every single home dual. It means that we still have All-Americans, national title contenders, and national champs, every single match of every single season.
It means that we still had a very good team this season. That our amazing fans were willing to brave the awful winter weather and the White Walkers to go and support this team. So regardless of us moaning and groaning about not bringing a team title back to Iowa City in over a decade, this program is still living and kicking the rest of the NCAA’s ass in attendance. Now, imagine what those numbers will be when we start bringing those team trophies back to the good side.
I say “when” because it’s going to happen much sooner than later.
So while the attendance numbers remain this high, this program is going to remain relevant. So THANK YOU to all the amazing fans that go out and support this team every chance you get. Without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today.