Panthers Climb Into Top-10 Attendance For Wrestling
4/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
PITTSBURGH--The University of Pittsburgh's wrestling team claimed three new attendance records this past season on its way to its first top-10 attendance finish since at least 2000.
Pitt, which was ninth in average attendance, was one of three schools, along with Ohio State and Rutgers, to claim new records in all attendance categories including average, total, and highest single-match attendance.
When the Panthers hosted in-state rival Penn State on Nov. 21 at the Petersen Events Center, the school established a single-match home record for attendance with 7,103 spectators. Only three more schools -- Iowa, Penn State and Minnesota -- filled their venues with more fans a total of seven times, making Pitt's dual with the Nittany Lion's the eighth-highest attended single-match dual of the 2014-15 wrestling season.
Pitt and Penn State's match from last year in University Park retained its title as the all-time record for a single-match dual with 15,996 spectators as Penn State's dual with Iowa came up just short with 15,967 in attendance.
In addition to the Panthers' dual with the Nittany Lion's, Pitt hosted seven more dual matches bringing its 2014-15 total to 12,256 fans over the eight dates for an average of 1,751 per match -- both program records. The total of 12,256 actually ranked as the eighth highest among Division I institutions.
This is the third straight year Pitt has ranked in the top-15 for average attendance. Last year, Pitt averaged 1,044 fans, which placed the Panthers 13th nationally.
| 2014-15 Division I Home Attendance | ||||||||
| Rank | Team | Avg. | Total | High | Rival | |||
| 1 | Iowa | 8,358 | 55,390 | 11,882 | Iowa State | |||
| 2 | Penn State | 7,747* | 55,4221 | 15,967 | Iowa | |||
| 3 | Minnesota | 4,947* | 29,681 | 13,620 | Iowa | |||
| 4 | Ohio State | 4,387* | 26,321* | 6,558* | Penn State | |||
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 3,002 | 21,103 | 4,691 | Penn State | |||
| 6 | Rutgers | 2,697 | 18,887* | 6,071* | Penn State | |||
| 7 | Iowa State | 2,369 | 14,216 | 2,929 | Northern Iowa | |||
| 8 | Northern Iowa | 1,946 | 9,729 | 2,100 | Virginia Tech | |||
| 9 | Pitt | 1,751 | 12,256* | 7,103* | Penn State | |||
| 10 | Cornell | 1,566 | 9,394 | 3,274 | Oklahoma | |||