Source: JMUSports.com
James Madison women’s basketball boasted the nation’s 39th-best average home attendance in 2014-15, the NCAA announced Monday. The Dukes’ average crowd of 2,904 fans was the third-highest total amongst non-FBS programs.
JMU led the Colonial Athletic Association in home attendance for the second consecutive season, just short of the school record 3,072 set in 2013-14. This season’s average was also the second highest in the Commonwealth, just behind Virginia’s 3,334 fans.
“The JMU women’s basketball program has seen tremendous growth over the past 10 years, and we very much enjoy hosting the JMU and Harrisonburg communities for top-level women’s basketball in the Shenandoah Valley,” Michael Carpenter, Assistant Athletic Director for Ticketing and Customer Relations, said. “Head Coach Kenny Brooks keeps our program at a high level atop the CAA and continues to bring great opponents into the Convo. Watching our dedicated fan base, students and Pep Band rally behind the Dukes makes our gameday experience second to none.”
South Carolina led the 343 NCAA Division I teams with an average home crowd of 12,293 fans. Gonzaga and Montana were the only two non-FBS programs with higher attendance numbers, packing in 5,366 fans (No. 13) and 3,026 fans (No. 38), respectively.
JMU won both the 2015 CAA regular-season title and 2015 CAA tournament championship, appearing in the NCAA tournament as the 12-seed in the Chapel Hill (N.C.) regional. The Dukes tied a school record for total wins with 29 while setting school records for regular-season wins (26) and regular-season CAA wins (17).
The Dukes appeared in both national polls during the 2014-15 season, climbing to No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, their highest ranking since being No. 14 on April 1, 1991. This season, they return the 2015 CAA Player of the Year and Naismith Award Watch List candidate Precious Hall, the 2015 CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Jazmon Gwathmey and 2015 Lieberman Award finalist Angela Mickens.
Season tickets for the 2015-16 JMU women’s basketball season go on sale in early August.
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Chris Graham
