With the help of star power, fair ticket prices, beautiful weather and a deep devotion to Buckeye football, the spring game had an official attendance of 99,391 – the largest crowd in college football history to see a spring game.
A national spring game record crowd in Ohio Stadium today, folks: 99,391 fans attending Ohio State's spring game. Go Bucks! Go Fans!
— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) April 18, 2015
Ohio State set the previous record, 95,722, at the 2009 spring game. That time, Terrelle Pryor was the major draw; this time, it was Ohio State's 2014 starting trio of Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones. Troy Smith's scheduled halftime appearance didn't hurt, either.
To be honest, the attendance for today could have been listed even higher. Only paying customers were listed in the official attendance; children under six got in for free. Once the children are accounted for, there's little doubt the Buckeyes topped 100,000 fans.
Largest Ohio State/Ohio Stadium spring game crowds: 1. 95,722 in '09; 2. 81,112 in '12; 3. 76,346 in '08; 4. 75,301 in '07.
— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) April 18, 2015
Alabama was expected to challenge Ohio State for a record crowd, but Alabama's A-Day attendance was 65,175. Tennessee could also challenge the record with its spring game on April 25, but unless Neyland Stadium has a near-sellout, today's attendance mark could stand a long, long time.
