SEC Basketball Teams Set Attendance Records in 1987-88 Season

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Southeastern Conference men’s basketball had its highest attendance figures ever in 1987-88 as the league seated an average 11,601 fans at each game.

The SEC earned the largest average attendance increase in the nation at 1,196 each game.

The league’s 10 teams attracted a conference record 1,728,622 spectators. That includes an increase of 188,638 overall to lead all NCAA Division I conferences.

With six more games on its schedule, the Big Ten edged out the SEC in total and average game attendances, drawing national records of 1,825,637 and 12,423, respectively.

The SEC claimed two of the top three positions in team attendance figures with Kentucky at 393,725 and Tennessee, 333,175. The nation’s leader was Syracuse with 461,223.

Tennessee’s attendance increase at an average of 8,632 was the highest in the country as the Volunteers completed their first year in their new Thompson-Boling Arena, site of the 1989 SEC Tournament.