July 10, 2002
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - For the 18th straight year women's NCAA basketball attendance soared to a new high topping the 9 million mark for the first time in history during the 2001-02 season.
The WCC was no different as the conference celebrated its 50th anniversary by also setting a new mark in women's basketball attendance, as 86,732 fans flocked to arenas up and down the West Coast to see league action. Saint Mary's led the league in attendance drawing 15,962 fans, an average of 1,330 spectators, pushing the Gaels into the top 100 Division I teams in home attendance. The WCC was one of 12 Division I conferences to post record highs in attendance as the 86,732 fans tops last yearšs previous high of 80,674.
Last season, the Women's Final Four, held in San Antoniošs Alamo Dome, had back-to-back sellout crowds of 29,619 for the semifinals and final, the largest single-game crowds since women's championships began in 1982.
The Big 12 Conference captured the national attendance crown by topping the one million mark for the first time in women's conference history as the league totaled 1,002,251 spectators. For the sixth straight year Tennessee lead the nation in home attendance as 200,132 fans journeyed to Knoxville to see the six-time national champion Lady Volunteers.
