A look at attendance across Georgia Southern athletics

  • Fans react to a made three-pointer in a GS victory over South Alabama. Men’s basketball garners the second highest attendance numbers, at 1,725.4 per game. 

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  • Fans wave a flag at a Georgia Southern football game. GS football games garner the highest attendance of varsity athletics, at nearly 13,000 attendees per game. 

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Kaitlin Sells

It’s no secret that Eagle Nation has a fan base extremely supportive of their athletics, but have you ever wondered which sports are more favored than others?

As 2017-2018 statistics show, here are the top eight most attended sports at Georgia Southern University:

1) Football

Average home game attendance: 12,883.6 per game.

It’s no surprise that Eagle football comes in at number one. Football is probably the most well-known sport at GS due to advertising. Whenever there is a football game day coming up, all of Eagle Nation knows it thanks to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media. The verified GS Football Twitter account alone has more than 23,000 followers and is very active in keeping followers up-to-date on all things Eagle football.

2) Men’s Basketball

Average home game attendance: 1,725.4 per game.

Coming in at number two is men’s basketball. This year we saw a lot of talent from the Eagles, namely Tookie Brown. Again we see another sport that maximizes its fans through the power of social media. The GS Men’s Basketball’s Twitter account isn’t verified, but it still has a loyal fan following of 6,434 followers.

3) Baseball

Average home game attendance: 622.8 per game, 1,868.3 per three-game series.

Eagle baseball has never been unpopular in Eagle Nation. With special days like “Bark in the Park” and more, baseball always seems to draw a crowd along with advertising for those special game days.

4) Men’s Soccer

Average home game attendance: 516.4 per game.

Men’s soccer has been a growing program, as indicated by their close attendance to baseball. With big upcoming games like Wake Forest, Winthrop and Louisville, we can expect to see attendance increase.

5) Volleyball

Average home game attendance: 409.3 per game.

Volleyball has always been popular in Eagle Nation as the numbers show, and hopefully we can see those numbers increase this upcoming season. Volleyball comes in as the top-attended women’s sport but still falls below all men’s sports. Their Twitter presence is noticeable, though, at 1,120 followers.

6) Women’s Basketball

Average home game attendance: 394.7 per game.

Trailing closely behind volleyball is women’s basketball. Considering most women’s games are set only a few hours before the men’s, one could ask why there isn’t as big of a turnout. Their social media presence is definitely noticeable, with 1,333 followers on their Twitter account, but they aren’t necessarily as active or flashy, per se, as the men’s team with their graphic designs and fancy videos.

7) Women’s Soccer

Average home game attendance: 268.6.

For women’s soccer an exciting season is coming, with opponents such as Stetson, Davidson and Kennesaw State. And considering women’s soccer’s growing social media presence, we should expect to see those numbers increase this upcoming season.

8) Softball

Average home season attendance: 242.6 per game, 727.8 per three-game series.

The softball program has been growing since head coach Kim Dean was hired. New players coming in from the Georgia Southern-Armstrong consolidation, who have collected a large following in previous years, have also contributed to the program’s growth. GS softball’s Twitter presence is very strong, weighing in at 5,403 followers.

Kaitlin Sells, The George-Anne Assistant Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu