Philadelphia sets NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships attendance mark

With two regional teams and three New Jersey preps vying for titles, fans flocked to the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The NCAA announced that this year's tournament drew a record 104,260 total fans over the three-day, six-session event at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The mark destroyed the old record of 97,334 set during the 2009 NCAA tournament at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

The final session, featuring the championship matches, drew 17,687 fans, which ranks second behind 2007 in Auburn Hills, Mich., which had a session with 17,780 in attendance.

The tournament attracted large numbers of Penn State and Cornell fans, who watched Penn State win its first team title since 1953 and Cornell finish second for the second straight year. Although there was some confusion along press row, it is believed to be the first time Eastern programs finished in the top two spots. Also, Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska and Kellen Russell of Michigan and Lehigh heavyweight Zach Rey won titles last weekend, and all were preps in New Jersey.

The tournament had 17,289 fans attend each of the first three sessions Thursday and Friday morning. Friday night's session for the semifinals drew 17,340. The placing matches Saturday morning had 17,366.

The NCAA tournament returns to the Midwest. St. Louis will host the 2012 NCAA tournament with Des Moines hosting at Wells Fargo Arena in 2013. The tournament then moves to Oklahoma City in 2014. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a local group is preparing a bid to host the 2015 NCAA Division I Championships.