SEC games that don’t matter drew more than 160,000 fans

The Auburn faithful loaded up Jordan-Hare Stadium for the spring game. (John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports)

This is what happens when you combine the SEC, the football-crazed state of Alabama, three championships in four years, the arrival of Gus Malzahn and the final roll of Toomer’s Corner, the beloved university oaks set to be torn down Tuesday^[1].

Auburn drew 83,401 fans to Saturday’s spring game, the program’s first under former Arkansas State coach (and Auburn offensive coordinator) Gus Malzahn. That total doesn’t just lead the FBS – outside of in-state rival Alabama, the Tigers’ attendance blows everyone else out of the water.

Leave it to Alabama (the state) to own the spring. Auburn’s attendance led the country; the Crimson Tide came in second with 78,315 fans, meaning more than 160,000 individuals flocked to two separate spring games – not actual games, spring games – on one specific Saturday inside one specific state. Bless your heart, SEC country.

In all, the 10 most-attended spring games thus far in 2013 – there are only a handful left to go before the true offseason begins – is SEC-heavy, as one might expect. Here’s a look at the top 10, with help from universities (the University of Kentucky in particular^[2]) and SB Nation^[3]:

1. Auburn (83,401)
2. Alabama (78,315)
3. Tennessee (61,076)
4. Nebraska (61,074)
5. Arkansas (51,088)
6. Kentucky (50,831)
7. Texas (46,000)
8. Texas A&M (45,212)
9. Georgia (45,113)
10. Ohio State (37,643)

Yes, that’s Kentucky up there, locked in at No. 6 after finishing 2-10 in 2012 and being, you know, a pretty distant second in the school’s power rankings. First-year coach Mark Stoops has set a fire ablaze underneath the often dormant UK football fan base.

(Also: There’s no way Texas had 46,000 fans in attendance for its spring game. One, that’s seriously inflated; and two, the school should have gone with something other than a perfect round number, because that’s suspicious.)

In terms of announced attendance – because not every school releases figures – the bottom 10 includes three teams from the MAC, two from the Big East, two from Conference USA, two from the Sun Belt and, sadly, Illinois.

References

1. ^{^} set to be torn down Tuesday (www.usatoday.com)
2. ^{^} University of Kentucky in particular (www.ukathletics.com)
3. ^{^} SB Nation (www.sbnation.com)