This season, the University of Memphis reached the 4 million mark in attendance for men's basketball on Jan. 4 during the conference game between the Tigers and the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Memphis has averaged 15,600 people per home game since the 2000-01 season. Wren Baker, deputy athletic director at the U of M, said the recent achievement speaks volumes about the quality of the program and the amount of support they receive.
"Our fans are amongst the most loyal anywhere and will continue to give our program the best support in the country," Baker said.
Memphis joins Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisville and Syracuse as the only programs to reach this achievement.
Lamar Chance, assistant athletics communications director at the U of M, believes this will put more national spotlight on the Tigers.
"It's great national exposure to be named along with programs such as these," Chance said.
Last season, Memphis ranked No. 11 in attendance and has finished in the top-20 12 times in the last 13 seasons. Memphis will most likely crack the top 20 this season as well.
Chance sees Memphis finishing this season ranked among other NCAA Division I attendance leaders.
"We've had great crowds so far," Chance said. "And it can only get better with teams like Connecticut, Gonzaga, Temple and Louisville still on the schedule to visit the FedExForum this season."
Josh Pastner is known for saying Memphis has the number one fan base in the nation. Chance and Baker both echo this sentiment.
Success is a huge reason why the Tigers have had so much support. Memphis has had 168 home wins in the past nine seasons, which is more than any other program since the 2004-05 season.
"I've worked at several other NCAA Division I schools and visited many others," Chance said. "The passion with which the fans follow and support the Memphis program is unrivaled."
Robert Allen, business economics major at the U of M, is a diehard fan and attends every home game. He loves how supportive and passionate the fan base is towards the team.
"It's incredible," Allen said. "Even for the smaller games we manage to fill an NBA stadium. Memphis fans are the best."
