July 15, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's basketball team finished sixth nationally in home attendance average (16,632), earning a top 10 mark for the third straight season. The Terrapins and their fans posted 15 full sellouts in 2004-05, and for the third straight year also established a new single-season record for attendance total (299,391).

"Being sixth in the nation in attendance is a great tribute to our fans and the strength of our program," said Terrapin head men's basketball coach Gary Williams. "We want to continue to be one of the top programs in the country."

The 2004-05 season marked the third straight in which Terrapin fans have set a record-breaking attendance total. Before the new mark of 299,391, the Terps posted a then-record season attendance total of 287,200 in 2003-04. During the 2002-03 season, when the Terrapins first moved into the $125 million, 17,950-seat Comcast Center, previous attendance records were shattered as well with 281,057 fans. The Terps finished fifth in the nation in per game attendance average in each of the past two seasons, with 17,950 in 2003-04 and 17,566 in 2003-03.

In their second year playing at Comcast Center in 2003-04, Williams' Terps played to 100 percent capacity and had 16 sellouts. Before moving to Comcast Center, the Terps' prior high attendance mark was 15th in the nation, with an average of 14,555 in 1998-99.

The Terrapins averaged 10,300 fans at home games during Williams' first season, in 1989-90, and have seen attendance numbers steadily rise during the coach's 16-year tenure. By 1997-98, the Terps had cracked the top 20 nationally, and had remained between No. 15 and No. 18 before the record-breaking totals in 2002-03.

Across the board, including home, away and neutral site games, Maryland's 2004-05 attendance total of 475,751 ranked 10th in the nation - marking a third straight season in the top 10 in that category as well.

As a league, the ACC ranked second in conference attendance with a new record total of 1,997,443 spectators in 2004-05. The ACC's per-game attendance average was 11,097.

2004-05 NCAA DIVISON I MEN'S BASKETBALL HOME ATTENDANCE LEADERS
Rank    School          G    Attendance    Average
1.      Syracuse        18   413,605       22,978
2.      Kentucky        15   337,796       22,520
3.      North Carolina  15   307,840       20,522
4.      Louisville      17   318,688       18,746
5.      Wisconsin       16   274.272       17,142
6.      MARYLAND        18   299,391       16,632
7.      Illinois        15   245,807       16,387
8.      Kansas          16   260,800       16,300
9.      Arkansas        16   252,608       15,788
10.     Michigan State  15   221,385       14,759