They raised the money, they built, they expanded, and the people came.

First came the expansion of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium this past season. The University of Louisville football team attracted an average of 50,648 fans for seven games, an increase of more than 18,000 fans per game over the previous season.

The men’s basketball team attracted a record total of 458,463 fans during the inaugural season of the KFC Yum! Center, averaging 21,823 fans per game. Attendance surpassed the 22,000 mark eight times. Louisville is third behind Kentucky and Syracuse, with average attendance numbers of 23,603 and 22,052, respectively

U of L also established a new school attendance record for women’s basketball at the new arena with an average of 10,859 fans per event. Games against Tennessee and Kentucky also attracted more than 22,000.

The Lady Cards were second attendance only to the University of Tennessee, which attracted 13,078 per game. UConn was third, attracting 10,192 per game.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.