Over time
Crowds by season
Averages divide by games that have a recorded crowd.
Analysis
What moves the crowd?
Patterns found in the game-by-game records. Correlation isn't causation, but the signals are clear.
Winning vs. home crowds
Correlation between a season's win % and its average home crowd (100 seasons). Last season's win % vs. this season's crowds: r = 0.35. Winning alone explains little — the Tigers drew big crowds even in down years, pointing to era and community factors.
Orange dots: 1990 and later.
Opponent & stakes
Average crowd by game type, all sites.
McKinley games average 16,368 fans — the single biggest draw on the schedule, regardless of either team's record.
Playoff games average 9,216 vs. 9,685 for other regular-season games. Deep playoff runs add games, so season totals jump in years like 2023 even when per-game crowds don't.
Home crowds peaked at 16,857 per game in 1945; the last five seasons average 5,587 (67% lower), even as the team kept winning.
Likely contributors not in this dataset: televised and streamed games, more Friday-night entertainment options, local population and enrollment shifts, ticket prices, stadium capacity changes and weather.
Record gates
Biggest crowds
| 1 | 1945 | Cathedral Latin Away | 6–6 | 51,000 |
| 2 | 1940 | Alliance Neutral | 40–0 | 33,000 |
| 3 | 1982 | Cincinnati Moeller Neutral · State Finals | 14–35 | 31,409 |
| 4 | 1964 | Niles McKinley Neutral | 14–8 | 30,128 |
| 5 | 2001 | Cleveland St. Ignatius Neutral · State Semi-Finals | 20–49 | 29,871 |
| 6 | 1994 | Canton McKinley Neutral · Regional Finals | 20–27 | 29,110 |
| 7 | 1941 | Canton McKinley Away | 32–0 | 25,000 |
| 8 | 1947 | Cathedral Latin Away | 12–16 | 25,000 |