DAHLONEGA – With the fall athletics season just days away from beginning, the University of North Georgia (UNG) Department of Athletics is gearing up for another historic season in the 2025-26 year.

In the 2024-25 campaign, UNG set numerous attendance records at multiple venues throughout the year. The Nighthawks ended the year with all six ticketed sports leading the Peach Belt Conference in attendance, all of which also finished in the top-10 in NCAA Division II. Among the six ticketed sports of men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball, North Georgia was the only school in the country to rank in the top-10 in total attendance and average attendance last year. 

The fall season was highlighted by standout attendance numbers for both men's and women's soccer. 

On Sept. 21, 2024 during Family Weekend, the men's team hosted the second-highest attended game in all of NCAA DII men's soccer as nearly 1,000 fans packed into the UNG Soccer Field at Lynn Cottrell Park and watched the Nighthawks take down PBC rival Georgia Southwestern (GSW) 2-1 in a thrilling game. UNG also hosted the 11th-highest attended game that season on Spirit Night against USC Aiken (USCA).

The Nighthawks finished the season with the fifth-highest total attendance and fourth-highest average attendance for DII men's soccer in the country.

On the women's side, UNG hosted two of the 11-most attended women's soccer DII events across the country. In the quarterfinals of the PBC Tournament, the Nighthawks welcomed GSW in front of nearly 800 fans and came away with a resounding 3-0 win. Over 700 fans packed the stadium when UNG took down USCA behind its most goals in a game of the 2024 season in an 8-1 triumph.

UNG was one of just two teams in the country to host two of the top-11 highest attended women's soccer events last season. The Nighthawks landed in the top-10 nationally in total and average attendance as well. 

Between the top-15 highest attended events from both men's and women's DII soccer last season, North Georgia was one of just two schools to host four events within that benchmark. 

During the winter, the UNG women's basketball team set numerous attendance records as well. With an accumulative attendance of nearly 26,000 fans cheering on the Nighthawks throughout the season, UNG finished second in DII in total attendance and fifth in average attendance last season. The Nighthawks also shattered a program record when 3,338 fans packed into the UNG Convocation Center for the 2024 NCAA Southeast Regional Championship, making it the second-most attended game in the country last year. 

The men's basketball team also enjoyed a raucous crowd throughout the year, finishing ninth in total attendance and fifth in average attendance among DII schools for the season.

With extremely successful fall and winter sessions, fans continued to show up to Nighthawk athletic events in the spring. 

UNG baseball finished sixth nationally in total attendance and ninth in average attendance during the 2025 season. The softball program also finished third nationally in total attendance and 10th in average attendance for the year. Both programs brought home the PBC Regular-season Championship, giving fans more opportunities to cheer on the Nighthawks during home events as each squad hosted its respective PBC Tournament. The UNG softball team also earned the second seed in the Southeast Regional and hosted a portion of the tournament as well before advancing to the Super Regional and eventually the College World Series.

North Georgia has dedicated numerous resources to expanding its fan base and the game day experience in the 2025-26 season. With facility upgrades, game day enhancements, a new promotional schedule and much more, Nighthawk fans are poised to celebrate another record-breaking year this season.

UNG 2024-25 Attendance Achievements
    - All 6 ticketed sports led PBC in attendance
    - All 6 ticketed sports ranked in the top-10 in DII total and average attendance
    - UNG was the only school in the country to rank in the top-10 nationally in those 6 ticketed sports in total and average attendance
    - Nearly 70,000 total fans attended a UNG ticketed event last season
    - Men's soccer: hosted 2nd and 11th highest-attended games in DII last season
    - Women's soccer: hosted 8th and 11th highest-attended games in DII last season
    - Men's & women's soccer: 1 of 2 schools nationally to have 4 total games in top-15 highest attended games of both sports
    - Women's basketball: set program attendance record and hosted 2nd highest-attended game in DII last season

UNG 2024-25 National Attendance Rankings
Men's soccer: 
    - Total - 5th
    - Average - 4th

Women's soccer: 
    - Total - 10th
    - Average - 7th

Women's basketball:
    - Total - 2nd 
    - Average - 5th

Men's Basketball:
    - Total - 6th
    - Average - 9th

Baseball
    - Total - 6th
    - Average - 9th

Softball
    - Total - 3rd
    - Average - 10th