Hope led Division III in men�s and women�s basketball attendance according to statistics provided by the NCAA. The Flying Dutchmen drew 43,319 spectators over 16 games for an average attendance of 2,696. Hope has taken the men�s attendance crown every year since 2002 when it finished second to Calvin.
On the women�s side the Flying Dutch had 21,581 spectators over 17 games for an average attendance of 1,269. The Hope men went 14-2 and the women 17-0 at the DeVos Fieldhouse, which seats 3,400 and hosted the 2008 and 2009 women�s national semifinal and championship games.
&&g-boxr&&Hope�s archrival Calvin also drew plenty of people to check out the new VanNoord Arena, which opened in midseason. The Knights finished second in men�s average attendance with 2,553 and third in women�s average attendance behind UW-Eau Claire (1,055) with 1,053. In the first regular season home game played at VanNoord, the Calvin set a new single game women�s attendance record with 4,395 watching the Knights� 71-65 double overtime victory over Trine. The previous high (4,356) was set by Howard Payne in an NCAA tournament second-round victory over Chapman in 2007.
Wooster, Wheaton (Ill.), UW-Stevens Point, Puget Sound, Illinois Wesleyan, Maryville (Tenn.), Carthage and Christopher Newport rounded out the men's top ten, while the MIAA took the conference title with an average attendance of 1,059. The NCAA tournament drew a total attendance of 50,563 and the average regular season home game attendance was 802. Men's attendance figures
Bowdoin, Illinois Wesleyan, George Fox, NYU, McMurry, UW-Stout and Mount Union rounded out the top 10 for women�s attendance. The WIAC took the conference title with an average attendance of 501. The NCAA tournament drew a total attendance of 40,614 and the average home game attendance including the tournament was 239. Women's attendance release
Finlandia and Maine-Presque Isle were not included in the men�s attendance figures. UC Santa Cruz, Crown, Elmira, Finlandia, Ithaca, La Roche, Maine Maritime, Maine-Presque Isle, Pitt.-Bradford, Sewanee, Spelman and Waynesburg were not included in the women�s figures because they did not provide complete information. Pomona-Pitzer credited itself with an average of more than 2,200 men's fans this past season, but a study of the individual games figures by D3sports.com suggests the number was excessively inflated.