The most important number from the Bayou Classic may not be the 34 points Grambling State scored to defeat rival Southern 34-23 Saturday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

That number just might be 62,907 — the largest Bayou Classic crowd on hand since the game returned to New Orleans in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina forced the game to move to Houston in 2005.

The previous post-Katrina high mark was 59,87Bayou-Classic-header-750x340-14 at the 2008 classic.

Saturday’s attendance number was 5,055 more than last year’s game attendance of 57,852. This year’s game marked the fourth-straight year of increased attendance for the game.

The attendance was also 22,192 more than the 2011 low-water mark of 40,715.

2015 attendance: 62,907

2014 attendance: 57,852

2013 attendance: 47,385

2012 attendance: 45,980

2011 attendance: 40,715

2010 attendance: 43,494

2009 attendance: 53,618

2008 attendance: 59,874

2007 attendance: 53,297

2006 attendance: 47,136 (1st game back in Superdome)

2005 attendance: 53,214 (Hurricane Katrina: Reliant/NRG Stadium, Houston)

This article was orginally published on HBCU Sports.com