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B1G Tournament enjoys second-largest attendance figure in 20-year history
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Final attendance figures for the B1G Tournament have been released, and this year’s event in Chicago was a huge success.
The conference tweeted out that 122,242 fans attended the seven sessions at the B1G Tournament from Wednesday to Sunday, marking the second-largest attendance total in the 20-year history of the tournament.
Thank you for a great week in Chicago! Total attendance for all seven sessions was 122,242, the second largest in tournament history. #B1GTourney pic.twitter.com/RkA7z0GpAR
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 18, 2019
According to Teddy Greenstein of The Chicago Tribune, the highest attendance total came in 2013, also in Chicago. That year, 124,543 fans showed up to cheer on their favorite B1G school.
Attendance of UC today: 18,615
122,242 for the tourney – second-most ever for B1G tourney
Prev record was 124,543 – also in Chicago (2013)#B1GTourney— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) March 17, 2019
The B1G was considered to have one of the deepest conferences in college basketball this season, a good reason for the attendance numbers. On Sunday, eight teams from the league punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, most of any conference.
Chicago has been a staple for the B1G Tournament since the event started in 1998. With the United Center being the site for the two most-attended tournaments, it will certainly remain in the rotation for years to come.
Indianapolis is also a frequent host of the B1G Tournament, and the league expanded to Washington, D.C. and New York over the last two years. Current commissioner Jim Delany said other cities like Detroit, Minneapolis and Omaha would also be worth exploring.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB