Oct. 19, 2004

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Three games into its five-game 2004 home football schedule, the Furman Paladins rank 10th nationally in home attendance among the 129 NCAA I-AA football schools, according to NCAA statistics.

Furman has averaged 13,903 fans in three home games versus Presbyterian, Western Carolina, and The Citadel, and has two games remaining against Georgia Southern (Nov. 6) and Chattanooga (Nov. 20). Last year the Paladins averaged 11,074 fans in six home dates. The Paladins' averaged a season record 15,207 fans over a five-game span in 1990.

Furman trails only Georgia Southern among Southern Conference schools in average attendance. GSU ranks sixth, having averaged 16,806 fans through four home dates. Appalachian State is the only other league school ranked among the Top 20 nationally with an average of 12,554 fans through four home games. Western Carolina (49th, 8,203), Wofford (58th, 6,865), Chattanooga (60th, 6,349), Elon (69th, 5,866), and The Citadel (79th, 5,127) round out conference schools.

Coming off a 33-14 win over The Citadel on Saturday, Furman, now 5-2 on the season and ranked seventh in the latest NCAA I-AA national poll, takes on Elon this Saturday in Elon, N.C. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. for the contest, which will televised by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS).