For the fifth straight year, Hope College has led all NCAA Division III men's basketball programs in home attendance. And the women's basketball program continues to grow its attendance base as the Flying Dutch ranked fourth among DIII teams in 2006-07.
For the fifth straight year, Hope College has led all NCAA Division III men's basketball programs in home attendance. And the women's basketball program continues to grow its attendance base as the Flying Dutch ranked fourth among DIII teams in 2006-07.
This is the ninth time in school history that Hope has been the men's basketball attendance leader. The MIAA champion Flying Dutchmen averaged 2,923 fans per game over 15 dates topping runner-up Wooster, Ohio by almost 1,000 fans per contest. Wooster averaged 1,943 over 19 dates followed by MIAA rival Calvin who averaged 1,891 fans per date.
Othe years when Hope led the nation in men's attendance were 1984, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Hope and Calvin helped the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) to top all Division III conferences in home attendance for the 16th consecutive year with an average of 1,100 fans per game.
The Flying Dutch averaged 1,224 fans over 12 women's basketball home dates. A year ago Hope topped Division III with an average of 1,329 fans in the inaugural year of the college's new DeVos Fieldhouse. This year's leader was Howard Payne, Tex. with an average of 1,490 fans followed by UW-Stout at 1,444 and Bowdoin, Me. 1,337. The MIAA ranked sixth among the conferences with an average of 382 fans per date.
Hope's teams posted a cumulative 24-3 record at DeVos in 2006-07 and over two seasons in the fieldhouse are 56-3 (men 31-2, women 25-1).
NCAA III Men's Basketball All-time Attendance Champions: 1977, Scranton; 1978, Calvin; 1979, Savannah State; 1980, Savannah State; 1981, Potsdam
State; 1982, Wisconsin-Stevens Point; 1983, Augustana (IL); 1984, Hope; 1985,
Wisconsin-Stevens Point; 1986, Calvin; 1987, Concordia-Moorhead; 1988, Calvin;
1989, Calvin; 1990, Calvin; 1991, Hope; 1992, Calvin; 1993, Calvin; 1994,
Calvin; 1995, Calvin; 1996, Hope; 1997, Calvin; 1998, Illinois Wesleyan; 1999,
Hope; 2000, Calvin; 2001, Calvin; 2002, Calvin; 2003, Hope; 2004, Hope; 2005,
Hope; 2006, Hope.