Iowa leads wrestling attendance for 18th straight season
Nittany Lions see increase, remain in No. 2 spot
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- The Penn State Nittany Lions might have dominated the college wrestling world, but they did play second fiddle to archrival Iowa in one regard in 2024-25 - attendance.
According to the National Wrestling Media Association, which released its annual attendance report on Thursday, the Hawkeyes once again led the nation in NCAA Division I men's wrestling attendance, averaging 13,640 fans per dual across seven home meets.
Iowa drew a capacity crowd of 14,897 twice last season, filling Carver-Hawkeye Arena for duals against Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
Penn State, which wrestles in storied Rec Hall, drew an average of 9,007 fans, including a season-high 15,998 fans for its dual with Iowa at the larger Bryce Jordan Center. That figure ties the indoor attendance record Penn State set in 2018 and matched in 2023 at the Jordan Center.
Rec Hall's seating capacity is 6,846, so Iowa's run seems safe.
Oklahoma State moved up one spot from last season to finish third with an average of 7,597, highlighted by a crowd of 10,740 against Missouri. The David Taylor effect was clearly evident, as this marked the program's highest home attendance average at Gallagher-Iba Arena since record-keeping began in 2002. The previous high average was in 2019 (5,226.6).
Iowa State, which ranked third last season, slid to fourth but still drew more than 33,000 total fans. The Cyclones averaged 5,533, with a high of 9,470 coming against Oklahoma. Rutgers continued its reputation for lively home duals, jumping from ninth to fifth with an average of 4,228, including 8,097 fans for its home dual against Penn State.
The closure of historic West Gym forced Northern Iowa to move its home duals to the McLeod Center, resulting in an attendance surge that propelled the Panthers into the top 10. UNI leaped from 12th to sixth with a school-record average of 4,222. Ohio State improved slightly from eighth to seventh, averaging 3,975 at the Covelli Center. Nebraska climbed from 11th to eighth, averaging 3,817.5, with a high of 6,661 at the Devaney Center against Iowa.
Virginia Tech made a notable jump from 14th to ninth with one of the strongest seasons in program history. The Hokies drew more than 1,000 fans at each of their five home duals, including a school-record 6,104 at Cassell Coliseum for their rivalry match with North Carolina State. Minnesota rose from 13th to 10th, averaging 3,299, with a high of 5,307 at Maturi Pavilion against Iowa.
Figuring It Out
Six schools increased their average home dual attendance by 1,000 or more fans: Penn State, Lehigh, Virginia Tech, Northern Iowa and North Carolina. A total of 155 duals drew more than 1,000 fans, one below last season's total. A record-tying 27 schools averaged over 1,000 fans per dual.
Pennsylvania Proud
Lehigh led all non-Power 4 conference programs with an average of 3,223, boosted by a crowd of 9,769 at the PPL Center in nearby Allentown. The Mountain Hawks' average ranked 11th nationally.
Pitt, with an average of 1,160 fans, stood 26th nationally, while Lock Haven was 31st at 906, Penn 35th at 727, Edinboro 44th at 565, Franklin and Marshall 49th at 475, Drexel 59th at 183 and Bloomsburg 60th at 149. There were 62 Division I schools in the rankings.
Three schools - Gardner-Webb, Sacred Heart and VMI - were not listed as they estimated attendance figures. Additionally, Clarion, Long Island and Rider did not provide attendance figures; Bloomsburg only reported five of its seven home matches.