Spring-game crowds: SEC dwarfs the nation

Most of the college football spring games have now been played, though not yet at Iowa (this Saturday). The story hasn't changed from last year or the year before that or the year before that.

The Southeastern Conference has way, way more fans for these things than any other league. It doesn't hurt that the league has better weather in April, but this isn't about weather. When Kentucky gets 50,831 for a spring game ... goodness gracious.  Hey, Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema, you ever coach before a spring game crowd of 51,088 in Madison?

In the Big Ten, Nebraska is a spring game stalwart. The Huskers had 60,174 for their game two weekends ago, and at $10 a ticket. Ohio State had 37,643 for its game in Cincinnati, which would have drawn well more than that had it been held on campus. But a few other teams played theirs in relative privacy.

Here are the figures. In many of these cases, the number is a published estimate, not a turnstile count. These games are free to the public almost everywhere.

BIG TEN

Nebraska 60,174

Ohio State 37,643

Penn State 28,000

Michigan State 22,500

Michigan 18,000

Wisconsin 12,500

Purdue 6,427

Indiana 5,000

Illinois 2,100

Iowa (this Saturday)

Minnesota (this Saturday)

Northwestern (no game)

BIG 12

Texas 46,000

Oklahoma 29,200

Texas Tech 16,116

Iowa State 15,000

Oklahoma State 15,000

Kansas 10,000

West Virginia 8,000

Baylor 3,500

Kansas State (this Saturday)

TCU (stadium being renovated)

SEC

Auburn 83,401

Alabama 78,000

Tennessee 61,076

Arkansas 51,088

Kentucky 50,831

Texas A&M 45,212

Georgia 45,113

South Carolina 30,000

Mississippi 28,000

LSU 28,000

Mississippi State 21,000

Missouri 18,384

Vanderbilt 14,000

Florida 10,000 (not a spring game, just a practice)

PAC-12

USC 15,284

Colorado 10,244

Utah 8,633

Washington State 8,340

Washington 7,000

Arizona State 6,386

California 5,831

Stanford 4,350

Arizona 4,095

Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA  (this Saturday)

ACC

Clemson 30,000

N.C. State 27,500

Florida State 27,500

Virginia Tech 25,000

North Carolina 15,000

Maryland 8,200

Miami 8,000

Virginia 7,500

Duke 5,213

Georgia Tech 5,000

Wake Forest 4,200

Syracuse 3,822

Pittsburgh 3,642

SELECTED OTHERS

Louisville 33,000

Notre Dame 31,652

BYU 12,000

Boise State 9,146

Western Kentucky 6,500

Middle Tennessee State 5,000

Temple 3,530

Connecticut 3,200

Cincinnati 2,000