College football spring games have lost a bit of their luster in recent years as teams look to avoid injuries and keep game plans vanilla so opponents don’t have extra footage to use against them. Even so, it’s the first taste of football for many since the College Football Playoff National Championship, and the last real look at a team until the 2024 season kicks off.
So it’s not rare for prominent schools around the nation to draw impressive crowds for their respective spring games. It should come as no surprise that Alabama, given Nick Saban’s retirement and the transition to new coach Kalen DeBoer, had plenty of fans in attendance for its annual A-Day Game.
But the Crimson Tide didn’t win the spring game attendance war. That honor goes to Ohio State, which almost filled Ohio Stadium, and boasted its largest spring game crowd since 2017, for Ryan Day’s sixth spring showcase as the head coach of the Buckeyes.
Below is a list of the 10 most attended spring games during the 2024 slate. All of the attendance figures listed were officially announced by the school, unless noted otherwise, and actual numbers may be different:
|
Ohio State |
80,012 |
|
Alabama |
72,358 |
|
Penn State |
67,000 (school estimate) |
|
Nebraska |
60,452 |
|
Georgia |
55,101 |
|
Florida |
48,000 |
|
Clemson |
47,000 (school estimate) |
|
Oklahoma |
45,861 |
|
Texas |
40,000 (estimate) |
|
Notre Dame |
37,138 |
Though just an estimate, that Clemson crowd stands as the sixth-largest in program history for a spring game. Notre Dame’s announced attendance number is its highest in 17 years as the Fighting Irish are looking to make the College Football Playoff entering Marcus Freeman’s third year as coach.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Texas’ crowd came in at just under 50,000, though media in attendance estimated that the real number was closer to 40,000. Either way, the lower bowl of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium was about at capacity to see quarterback Arch Manning throw for a show-stealing 355 yards and three touchdowns.
Of note, Colorado had more than 28,000 fans announced at its spring game — a sharp decline from the more than 47,000 fans a year ago. But that was Deion Sanders’ debut, and this year, weather ended up being a factor. Though not among the top 10 spring games in attendance, Colorado’s number is still significant given the program state over the last several years.
