Recently the rest of the college basketball world has discovered what a hotbed of hoops the state of South Dakota is.

Just in the past few years, Sioux Falls has hosted everything from a NCAA Division I Women's Tournament Regional to the Elite Eight events for both men and women on the Division II side.

But South Dakota's love for college basketball goes back decades. And that unparalleled passion has once again been confirmed with the release of last season's attendance figure's.

For the 11th straight year, Northern State University's men and women lead the nation in average attendance. Better than 3,000 fans per game assembled inside Wachs Arena in Aberdeen to watch the Wolves men and women in 2017-18.

Northern is the only D2 school in America to top 3,000 for either the men or women.

Not far behind is Augustana University.

The Viking men and women each ranked third in the nation in attendance. A little more than 2,400 turned out on average to watch the Augie men at the Sioux Falls Arena in 2017-18, while slightly less than 2,000 were in attendance for the Viking women.

Top NCAA Division II Men's Average Attendance (2017-18) 

  1. Northern State - 3,732
  2. Dixie State - 2,630
  3. Augustana - 2,421
  4. Morehouse - 2,407
  5. California Baptist - 2,290

Top NCAA Division II Women's Average Attendance (2017-18)

  1. Northern State - 3,056
  2. Fort Hays State - 2,053
  3. Augustana - 1,945
  4. Emporia State - 1,756
  5. Washburn - 1,582

It's important to note that the two South Dakota schools are the only institutions to make both the men's and women's top five.

Impressive.


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