In 2021, a Jackson State Game Was the Place to Be

The attendance figures in Jackson State’s 2021 season were astounding. Think of it this way: The Tigers were one home game away from playing in front of a half million fans overall.

Their average home attendance in six games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium was 42,293, a single-season record in FCS college football, and up 9.2% from the previous high average of 38,873, also set by Jackson State in 1997. But the Southwestern Athletic Conference champion also was a big draw on the road and at neutral sites in coach Deion Sanders’ first full season, and second overall. While finishing 11-2 to set a school record for wins, the Tigers played before 461,015 fans, or 35,463 on average.

Their season included 10 attendances above 25,000 and ranked among the 17 largest in the FCS. All but one of the Tigers’ 13 games drew over 20,000 fans, and they helped set single-game records for the SWAC championship (50,128 at home against Prairie View A&M) and the Celebration Bowl (48,653 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium against South Carolina State). Add in a season-high 58,892 for their regular-season finale against Alcorn State, and Coach Prime and Co. averaged 52,558 fans over their final three games.

A SWAC championship game-record 50,128 fans attended today’s game at Jackson State’s Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Tigers’ average attendance over six home games this season was 42,293, an FCS record. JSU also had the previous high average, 38,873 in 1997. pic.twitter.com/k8YJhvbeJL

— Craig Haley (@CraigHaley) December 5, 2021

Following the Soul Bowl win over Alcorn State, Sanders reacted to the largest crowd of the FCS season: “That feeling is unexplainable,” he said. “You have to feel it, you have to understand that 58,000 of our people (were) unified. When they did the wave, it just blew my mind because we’re unified.”

2021 Jackson State Schedule With Attendance

Sept. 5: Florida A&M (at Miami – 33,501) – Win, 7-6

Sept. 11: Tennessee State (at Memphis, Tenn. – 46,171) – Win, 38-16

Sept. 18: at Louisiana-Monroe (Monroe, La. – 21,720) – Loss, 12-7

Sept. 25: Delta State (Jackson, Miss. – 33,652) – Win, 24-17

Oct. 9: at Alabama A&M (Huntsville, Ala. – 21,835) – Win, 61-15

Oct. 16: Alabama State (Jackson, Miss. – 53,578) – Win, 28-7

Oct. 23: Bethune-Cookman (Jackson, Miss. – 26,428) – Win, 42-12

Oct. 30: at Mississippi Valley State (Itta Bena, Miss. – 10,000) – Win, 28-19

Nov. 6: Texas Southern (Jackson, Miss. – 31,078) – Win, 41-21

Nov. 13: at Southern (Baton Rouge, La. – 25,379) – Win, 21-17

Nov. 20: Alcorn State (Jackson, Miss. – 58,892) – Win, 24-10

Dec. 4: Prairie View A&M (Jackson, Miss. – 50,128) – Win, 27-10

Dec. 18: South Carolina State (at Atlanta – 48,653) – Loss, 31-10