Jackson State football led the FCS in attendance average with 30,060 in four games. That is 75 percent of the capacity of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, where JSU plays its football. That number represents a 14k drop in last season’s attendance as Jackson State football averaged better than 42k in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. It has consistently led the FCS in attendance across decades.
SWAC East Champion Florida A&M ranks sixth in the nation with 17,616 fans per game. That is 89.7 percent of the capacity of Bragg Memorial Stadium. FAMU will host Prairie View A&M in the SWAC Championship Game on Dec. 2.
Southern University is right behind FAMU with an average of 17,465 fans per game. That is 61.2 percent capacity of A.W. Mumford Stadium.
Alabama State is on Southern’s heels with 17,385 fans per game. That number is 65.2 percent capacity of ASU Stadium. ASU still has one more home game remaining as it will host rival Tuskegee University in the Turkey Day Classic.
Norfolk State University is the top MEAC/non-SWAC HBCU in attendance with an average of 15,652 fans. That number represents 51.2 percent capacity of William “Dick” Price Stadium.
Alabama A&M and Alcorn State ranked within the top 20. South Carolina State ranked just outside the top 20.
Here are all the numbers for FCS HBCUs.
1 Jackson St.
30,060
75.1
6 FAMU
17,616
89.7
7 Southern
17,465
61.2
8 Alabama St.
17,385
65.6
9 Norfolk St.
15,656
52.1
13 Alabama A&M
12,934
61.59
14 Alcorn
12,018
53.4
21 SC St.
10,661
48.4
29 NC A&T
9,582
44.5
33 NC Central
9,055
90.5
47 Hampton
7,431
61.9
48 Texas Southern
7,422
33.7
58 Bethune-Cookman
6,398
66.6
60 Grambling
6,170
31.4
62 Prairie View
6,062
40.4
66 MVSU
5,692
54.2
75 Howard
5,433
76.6
77 Tennessee St.
5,400
8
81 Morgan St.
5,075
50.7
82 Delaware St.
5,009
71.5
Jackson State football leads attendance, HBCUs remain strong