Volume 3/Number 1

2000

Football fans flock to games

The game's the thing for UD football enthusiasts.

Last year, Delaware set a record for attendance, drawing 122,229 fans for its six home games. Average game attendance was 23,372, breaking the earlier mark of 19,719 set in 1981.

And the trend continues this fall. The ticket office estimates that 8,500 season tickets will be sold this season, up from last year's record of 8,355.

Delaware attracted three sellout crowds at the 22,000-seat Delaware Stadium in 1999, including a season-high of 22,082 when the Fightin' Blue Hens played Richmond Oct. 2. Delaware also had sellout games with William & Mary and Lehigh.

This year's home opener Sept. 9 against The Citadel, will be played under the lights, which were installed this summer in Delaware Stadium. Fireworks follow.

The University of Delaware's record football average attendance ranked seventh among all National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 1-AA programs. UD has ranked among the top ten in NCAA 1-AA average attendance for three straight years.