Mankato, Minn. ---  Three Minnesota State athletic teams finished the 2009-10 season among the top-20 in the nation in attendance. 

The Maverick volleyball team finished eighth in the nation in attendance, drawing 5,734 fans over a 10-match home schedule for an average of 573 fans per game.  MSU boasted the second-best attendance in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference behind Wayne State, which finished seventh nationally and drew 583 fans per match.  Last season marked the second time in the last three years that the Mavericks have finished in the top-10 in the nation in attendance.

The men's hockey team finished 19th in the league in attendance averaging 3,880 fans over 17 home games.  The Mavericks were one of nine Western Collegiate Hockey Association squads ranked in the top-25 in attendance.  In all, 73,717 fans watched the Mavericks play in the Verizon Wireless Center this past season.  This season marks the third straight season that the Mavericks have finished in the top-20 in attendance and the eighth time it has done so since the 1999-2000 campaign.

Minnesota State's men's basketball team finished 20th in the nation in attendance as 31,521 fans over an 18-game home schedule for an average of 1,751 fans per game.  The Mavericks are one of four NSIC schools ranked in the top-20 in the nation in attendance and finished the year with a better attendance mark than 114 NCAA Division I basketball programs, including eight programs that made postseason play of some sort.  This marks the fourth consecutive season that the Mavericks have finished in the top-20 in attendance and the eighth time it has done so since the 2000-2001 season.

To view a .pdf of this release - including the top-20 lists and year-by-year lists - click HERE