BYU, Hawai’i lead nation in home attendance midway through season

BYU and Hawai’i midway through the season are leading the nation in home attendance and by a considerable margin.

Both the Cougars and Rainbow Warriors have more than double the home attendance average of any other NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams after the two months of the regular season.

No. 2 BYU has a nation-best 3,757 home attendance average, including having a season-high sold-out crowd of 5,248 people for its four-game victory against then-No. 6 Stanford in January. In addition, the first-place Cougars are undefeated at home this season and had at least 2,800 people in attendance for every home match.

Hawai’i is in second place with a 2,767 home attendance average — almost a 1,500 people average more than third-place UC Irvine.

The top four teams have all averaged more than 1,000 people in attendance per home match so far this season. UC Irvine has a 1,189 home attendance average, while Ball State leads all non-West Coast schools and is in fourth place overall with a 1,060 home attendance average.

Penn State has the best attendance average among East Coast schools at 639 people and is the only EIVA or Conference Carolinas in the top 15 for attendance. In addition, Mount Olive leads the Conference Carolinas with a 274 home attendance average.

Sixteen of the 38 returning NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams are also on pace to increase their home attendance average from last year.

Among the teams with the biggest home attendance average increase from last season includes BYU by almost 700 people. Ball State and Loyola each have also increased their attendance averages by more than 300 people.

2014 NCAA men’s volleyball home attendance average (through March 3)
1. BYU — 3,757
2. Hawai’i — 2,767
3. UC Irvine — 1,189
4. Ball State — 1,060
5. Long Beach State — 933
6. Pepperdine — 889
7. Loyola — 761
8. Lewis — 686
9. USC — 669
10. UCLA — 666
11. Penn State — 639
12. Stanford — 621
13. IPFW — 542
14. Cal Baptist — 512
15. Ohio State — 460
16. Princeton — 397
17. UC San Diego — 380
18. UC Santa Barbara — 369
19. Cal State Northridge — 363
20. Quincy — 334
21. Grand Canyon — 312
22. George Mason — 302
23. Mount Olive — 274
24. St. Francis — 227
25. NJIT — 200
26. Sacred Heart — 197
27. Limestone — 196
28. Pacific — 189
29. Lindenwood — 166
T-30. Harvard — 158
T-30. McKendree — 158
32. Pfeiffer — 150
33. King — 125
34. Barton — 123
35. Lees-McRae — 103
36. Rutgers-Newark — 84
T-37. Erskine — 73
T-37. Coker — 73
39. Belmont Abbey — 55