Courtesy of American Track and Field

Texas Leads Country in State Championship Track and Field Attendance
(Columbus, OH) - American Track and Field (ATF) is proud to announce the 2003 United States high school state championship track and field paid attendance figure at 244,075.

The survey, conducted over a three-month period, shows the ever-growing reach that track and field has at the high school level.

"The 244,075 people that attended state championship track and field meets this year is astonishing when compared with other major events held in the United States," said Larry Eder, ATF publisher. "The amount of people that viewed a state championship track and field meet is more than the last three Super Bowl's combined, slightly less then last year's entire 7-game World Series and more than double last year's NHL Stanley Cup Finals."

The top five highest attended state meets:
1. Texas: 45,000
2. Kansas: 28,000
3. Nebraska: 22,934
4. Ohio: 22,275
5. Oregon: 21,496

The five lowest attended state meets:
1. Rhode Island: 624
2. Delaware: 904
3. Mississippi: 1,500
4. Arkansas: 1,605
5. New Hampshire: 1,850

American Track & Field is a professional publication dedicated to the improvement of both the image and the performance of American athletes in the disciplines of track and field, cross country, and race walking. ATF takes a grassroots approach to improving the quality of coaching to the 1.51 million serious athletes in these disciplines by becoming the source of training information. For more information, please visit www.american-trackandfield.com.

The entire listing of attendance totals is as follows:

Alabama: 4,124
Alaska: N/A *
Arizona: 7,706
Arkansas: 1,605
California: 18,209
Colorado: 11,382
Connecticut: 2,927
Delaware: 904
Florida: 7,092
Georgia: N/A *
Hawaii: N/A *
Idaho: 10,000
Illinois: 15,267
Indiana: 9,960
Iowa: 13,152
Kansas: 28,000
Kentucky: 6,586
Louisiana: 2,345
Maine: 2,850
Maryland: 5,000
Massachusetts: 5,357
Michigan: 16,000
Minnesota: 10,550
Mississippi: 1,500
Missouri: 9,524
Montana: 3,900
Nebraska: 22,934
Nevada: 3,250
New Hampshire: 1,850
New Jersey: 7,000
New Mexico: 7,897
New York: 3,704
North Carolina: 3,500
North Dakota: 8,907
Ohio: 22,275
Oklahoma: 15,502
Oregon: 21,496
Pennsylvania: 8,907
Rhode Island: 624
South Carolina: 2,700
South Dakota: 8,500
Tennessee: 7,000
Texas: 45,000
Utah: N/A *
Vermont: N/A *
Virginia: 3,715
Washington: 10,900
West Virginia: 5,436
Wisconsin: 15,700
Wyoming: N/A *
TOTAL: 244,075

* The state athletic association keeps no attendance totals. Six of the state athletic associations do not keep attendance totals.