UNI wrestling cracks top-15 in national attendance numbers

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - UNI wrestling was among the top-15 programs in the nation to attract fans to home events in the 2021-22 season, according to the National Wrestling Media Association.

UNI finished 14th in the nation among the annual numbers for Division I wrestling dual meet attendance released last week. The Panthers packed the McLeod Center when UNI hosted Iowa State. UNI averaged 1,624 fans at the five duals hosted between the McLeod Center and the West Gym.

The Panthers have been in the nation's top 20 since at least the 2008 season. Since head coach Doug Schwab took over in 2011, UNI has cracked the top 10 four times (2014-17).

Attendance wasn't tracked in 2020-21 due to most venues having no-spectator policies during that season.The University of Iowa set a new record for home average of 14,905. For the 11th straight season, Penn State ranked second in attendance.

Overall, 22 schools averaged more than 1,000 fans per home dual or dual event, down from 24 in the last two trackable seasons (2019 and 2020). Twelve schools drew more than 1,000 fans for each of their home dual events and 117 duals drew at least four figures during the 2021-22 season. In 2019-20, 166 duals drew more than 1,000, showing the impact of COVID-19-related issues with home attendance this season.

In 2021-22, 33 schools reported at least one home dual event drawing more than 1,000 fans. In 2019-20, 44 schools reported crowds more than 1,000.

Rank	School	Average	Total	Counted Dates	Crowds Over 1K	Top Draw
1	Iowa	14,905.0	89,430	6	6	All
2	Penn State	7,776.0	54,432	7	7	Ohio State
3	Oklahoma State	4,631.0	37,048	8	8	Oklahoma
4	Iowa State	3,961.6	27,731	7	7	Iowa
5	Rutgers	3,712.1	33,409	9	9	Army West Point
6	Ohio State	3,493.9	24,457	7	7	Iowa
7	Minnesota	2,899.5	17,397	6	6	Wisconsin
8	Michigan	2,852.2	14,261	5	4	Penn State
9	Utah Valley	2,276.5	4,553	2	2	Oklahoma State
10	Virginia Tech	2,258.3	13,550	6	5	Ohio State
11	NC State	2,048.4	10,242	5	5	North Carolina
12	Stanford**	2,003.0	2,003	1	1	Oklahoma State
13	Penn**	1,871.3	5,614	3	1	Penn State
14	Northern Iowa	1,624.8	8,124	5	2	Iowa State
15	Nebraska	1,521.7	9,130	6	5	Iowa
16	Arizona State	1,427.8	7,139	5	5	Oklahoma
17	Indiana	1,440.0	7,200	5	5	Purdue
18	Wisconsin	1,370.5	8,223	6	6	Rutgers
19	Missouri	1,350.8	8,105	6	2	Iowa State
20	Lehigh	1,290.1	10,321	8	8	Cornell
21	Oklahoma	1,067.7	6,406	6	1	Oklahoma State
22	South Dakota State	1,063.0	6,378	6	3	North Dakota State
23	Oregon State	950.3	2,851	3	1	Cal Poly
24	Navy	950.0	2,850	3	1	Army West Point
25	Lock Haven	937.8	4,689	5	2	Michigan State
26	Purdue	880.8	4,404	5	1	Wisconsin
27	Northern Colorado	762.6	3,813	5	1	Wyoming
28	Cal Poly	750.0	3,000	4	1	San Francisco State
29	Wyoming	749.8	2,999	4	0	Oklahoma State
30	Princeton**	740.0	740	1	0	Cornell
31	West Virginia	701.2	3,506	5	0	Wyoming
32	Little Rock	676.0	2,704	4	1	Oklahoma State
33	Central Michigan	577.2	2,886	5	0	Michigan
34	Illinois	564.8	2,259	4	1	Iowa
35	Maryland	559.5	4,476	8	1	Penn State
36	Binghamton	529.4	2,647	5	1	Buffalo
37	Virginia**	515.5	1,031	2	0	Virginia Tech
38	Pittsburgh	456.6	3,196	7	0	Michigan/Army West Point
39	Northwestern	452.8	2,264	5	1	Iowa
40	Cornell**	452.8	2,264	5	0	Stanford
41	North Dakota State	420.3	2,522	6	0	Missouri
42	Air Force	386.3	2,318	6	0	Oklahoma State
43	Kent State	375.0	1,500	4	0	Ohio
44	CSU Bakersfield	347.5	695	2	0	Arizona State
45	American	345.9	2,421	7	0	Maryland
46	Rider	337.8	1,689	5	0	Purdue
47	Chattanooga	337.0	1,348	4	0	Appalachian State
48	Michigan State	308.8	1,544	5	0	Penn State
49	Edinboro	293.0	2,051	7	0	Pittsburgh
50	Drexel	275.4	1,377	5	0	Purdue
51	Cleveland State	248.5	994	4	0	Ohio
52	Sacred Heart	248.0	496	2	0	Binghamton
53	Clarion	190.5	762	4	0	Kent State
54	Buffalo	139.2	835	6	0	Pittsburgh
55	Franklin & Marshall	122.5	490	4	0	Hofstra

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