USA – The back-to-back Big 12 champion Texas A&M baseball team ranked fifth nationally in total attendance in 2008, according to figures released by the NCAA.

The Aggies drew 176,723 fans through the turnstiles at Olsen Field en route to their first regular-season conference crown since 1999. LSU (311,187) led the country, followed by Arkansas (222,985), Florida State (186,879) and Texas (179,282). Mississippi State, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Wichita State and Tulane rounded out the top 10.

A&M’s 4,208 per-game average ranked third in the Big 12 and 11th nationally. In total, Texas A&M played in front of over 253,000 fans on the year and three stadium record crowds (at TCU, Sam Houston State and Rice).

Over the last decade, the Aggies have drawn a total of 1.631 million fans, a number only four schools—LSU, Texas, Mississippi State and Alabama—have eclipsed. In addition, A&M is one of only four schools to draw at least 135,000 fans in each of the last 10 years.

Fans will get plenty of opportunities to see the Aggies in action in 2009, as A&M hosts a 37-game home schedule which features Cal State Fullerton, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, TCU, Houston, Texas and Baylor, among others.
Season tickets are available now by logging on to aggieathletics.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.

Texas A&M returns 14 letterwinners, four position starters and nine pitchers from a 2008 squad that won the Big 12 regular-season title and the NCAA College Station Regional championship. The season opener is set for Friday, Feb. 20 against Wright State at Olsen Field.

Media Release: Texas A&M University Sports Information Department

Tags: NCAA