CHARLESTON, S.C. – More people watched The Citadel football team play in 2016 than any Southern Conference program.

The Bulldogs ranked first in the conference and 20th in FCS in attendance with an average of 11,727 fans per game. That number includes the Oct. 6 game at North Greenville moved due to Hurricane Matthew since The Citadel was the designated home team. The Bulldogs' average attendance in Johnson Hagood Stadium of 12,986 would have ranked 17th in FCS. Including road games, 162,391 people saw the Bulldogs play live in 2016.

In addition, The Citadel brought more viewers to ESPN3 broadcasts than any other Southern Conference program. The Bulldogs were responsible for the highest-rated game by all three measurements used, which are total unique viewers, total minutes viewed and minutes per viewer. The Citadel played in four of the five-highest unique viewer broadcasts, five of the top-six total minutes viewed broadcasts and each of the top-four broadcasts by minutes per viewer.

The Citadel completed a 10-2 campaign in its first season under head coach Brent Thompson, who broke the program's 100-year-old record for wins by a first-year head coach. The Bulldogs earned their second straight Southern Conference championship and tied the record for most SoCon wins in a season by completing only the seventh 8-0 conference mark in SoCon history. The Citadel broke the program's single-season program record with six road wins, the most in FCS in 2016, and finished with the second-highest single-season wins total in school history.

The Citadel was awarded the No. 6 seed in the FCS Playoffs, earning a national seed for the first time under the current 24-team format, and hosted a playoff game for the first time since 1992. The Bulldogs made their fifth postseason appearance and advanced to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time while Coach Thompson became the only first-year head coach to lead the Bulldogs to the postseason.

In the season's final polls, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 9 in the Coaches poll and No. 10 in the STATS poll, earning the team's highest final poll ranking since 1992. The Citadel, which finished the 2015 season ranked 13th by STATS and 15th by the coaches, was ranked in the final poll in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1990-92 when the team was ranked 15th, tied for 20th and tied for first, respectively.

The Citadel ranked first in FCS in rushing for the first time since 1994 and the third time in program history and led the SoCon for the third straight year. The Bulldogs averaged 348.2 yards per game, the second-highest average in program history, and tied the school's single-season record with five 400-yard rushing performances. The Citadel also ranked first in FCS allowing an average of only 3.3 tackles for loss per game. In addition, the Bulldogs ranked first in the Southern Conference in time of possession, yards per completion, first downs allowed, third-down conversions, third-down defense, yards per rush, passing touchdowns allowed, total touchdowns allowed and punt returns.

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