(C.J. Leslie is meeting with the media this afternoon, and I'll have more on that as reports become available. Don't worry, he isn't going anywhere.)
The NCAA recently released attendance figures for the 2010-2011 basketball season, and NC State is once again among the nation's top 25 in per-game average:
Rank School Average
1. Kentucky 23,603
2. Syracuse 22,312
3. Louisville 21,832
4. North Carolina 19,144
5. Tennessee 18,952
6. BYU 18,714
7. Wisconsin 17,230
8. Memphis 16,768
9. Kansas 16,436
10. Illinois 15,851
11. Marquette 15,586
12. Indiana 15,259
13. Ohio St. 15,125
14. Maryland 14,910
15. Michigan St. 14,797
16. New Mexico 14,570
17. Purdue 16 13,916
18. Vanderbilt 13,802
19. North Carolina St. 13,779
20. Arizona 13,680
It's not a perfect measure of fan interest--I'd be interested in percent capacity numbers, but those are not available--but still it's an impressive feat for a program that's been so bad for so long. You people are good fans. Crazy insane crazy people, but supportive. They must have a shuttle from the local mental facility or something.
Patrick Stevens has some additional notes on the attendance figures, including a look at the change in attendance among ACC schools from 2010 to 2011. NC State also ranks 3rd in the league by this measure, with a 4.5% increase in 2011.
Update: Rush The Court has a look at the percent capacity numbers. NC State ranks 57th.