After another successful season in Beaver Stadium, it should come as no surprise Penn State football held the second-largest average attendance in the country in 2019, according to a National Football Foundation report released Wednesday.

The Nittany Lions averaged 105,678 fans per game this past season, which sits between Michigan (111,459) and Ohio State (103,383). Although the Big Ten held this year’s top three average attendances and a conference-wide 65,065-fan average, the SEC led all conferences with an average attendance of 72,723 fans.

Additionally, Penn State checked in at No. 6 in total fan attendance after 1,143,373 fans packed Beaver Stadium this past fall. That mark ranks higher than Georgia and Clemson, which came in at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively.

On the broadcast side of things, Penn State’s matchup against Ohio State in November drew in an impressive 9,425,000 viewers and was the fifth-most watched game broadcast on FOX. The Nittany Lions were one of eight teams to play in three or more games that wound up in the top 25 in terms of total viewership.

Additionally, Penn State’s loss to Minnesota broke ratings records (and hearts). It became ABC’s most-watched regular season noon kickoff since 2016 after drawing in 6,754,000 viewers.

The National Football Foundation compiled its report using Nielsen Ratings Reports, information from FOX, CBS, ABC, and other broadcasters, and releases from universities and bowl games. Founded in 1947, the National Football Foundation works to “use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people.”

About the Author

Owen Abbey

Owen Abbey was a Secondary Education major before he graduated from the wonderful institution known as Penn State. When he was not writing for the blog, he enjoyed rooting for the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens, supporting Penn State basketball and softball, dreaming of all of the ways he would win the TV show "Survivor," and yes mom, actually doing school work. All of this work prepared him to teach his own class of students, which was always his true passion. He still can be found on Twitter @theowenabbey and can be reached for questions and comments at coabbey22@gmail.com

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