Iowa Wrestling led the nation in attendance for a 16th straight season and broke the all time attendance record. Iowa had 118,870 wrestling fans for home meets in legendary Carver-Hawkeye Arena to break the D-I attendance record.
The previous record of 97,325 was set by Iowa in the 2015-16 season that included the Grapple on the Gridiron that had an NCAA record 42,287 fans alone. Breaking the record and by that much without the Grapple on the Gridiron is amazing.
Iowa averaged 14,858 fans for each home dual meet. The Hawks had a capacity crowd of 14,905 for six of eight home dual meets. Considering factors such as weather and home meets being televised more than ever only add to the significance of this record.
Iowa Wrestling tickets were sold out before the season even began the last two years. I was even more impressed with this last year when the entire season was a sellout 2 weeks earlier than the previous season.
Iowa was also the top draw of the season on the road for six opponents: Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Army, Chattanooga, and Purdue.
Iowa has led the nation in attendance every year that Tom Brands has been head coach.
I have been saying for years in this blog that Iowa Wrestling has an advantage over the rest of their competition for fans unlike any sport in America. And it is not even close. Here is more proof.
Congratulations to all involved for Iowa Wrestling, The University of Iowa, and the Iowa Wrestling Nation. Job well done by all.
2022-23 Division I attendance rankings: https://bit.ly/3LeUGFw
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
