Which college football team has the most fans?

[Tango Two]

Which college football team has the most fans? Why (we think) Michigan edges Ohio State

We looked at tickets, revenue, social media and more to investigate an unanswerable question: Which college football team has the most fans?

www.nytimes.com

 

[Purple-Ed]

My guess would be Notre Dame.

 

[JayDogSmooth]

Without looking at the list, it has to be Ohio State, Texas and to a lesser extent, Nebraska

Everyone else, at least in regard combining overall fans, and taking over stadiums, is behind them

 

[Plum Street]

Without looking ,i am gonna guess Michigan

 

[yesrutgers01]

Without looking, I would go with ND...I know that growing up in an area with no real college teams, ND was represented more than all the rest combined. They also get the auto fan of anyone that is Irish that is not affiliated with a P4 school.

 

[yesrutgers01]

dammit- pay site...but looks like they are "guessing" Michigan

 

[Fat Koko]

1 Michigan
2 Ohio State
3 Alabama
4 Georgia
5 Texas
6 Penn State
7 Tennessee
8 Notre Dame
9 LSU

Then a big drop off.

Oddity; USC was most bet-on team based on BetMGM data even though online sports betting is illegal in California.

 

[MADHAT1]

Thank you Tango for posting pay-site articles
I hope you're receiving a commission from them for the people you have sign up so they can read what you post .
As for me: no commission for Tango , because google gave me the answer for free
AI Overview

Based on multiple studies and rankings, Ohio State is generally considered to have the largest and most popular college football fan base in the United States.


Here's a breakdown of why:

• Large Fan Base Size:
  Studies consistently place Ohio State at the top of lists ranking college football teams by fan base size, with estimates ranging from 6 to over 11 million fans.
• Factors Contributing to Popularity:
  • Long-Term History and Recent Success: Ohio State boasts a strong football tradition and has been a consistently competitive program, including national championship aspirations.
  • Massive Alumni Base: As one of the nation's largest universities, Ohio State has a substantial alumni network, many of whom remain passionate fans.
  • Flagship Program in a Populous State: Ohio State is the flagship football program in one of the 10 most populous states in the country, contributing to its widespread popularity.
• Other Teams with Large Fan Bases:
  While Ohio State leads, other teams like Notre Dame, Texas, Penn State, and Michigan also have significant and passionate fan bases.
• Study Methodology:
  Some studies base their rankings on polling data from marketing research firms, analyzing which college football teams have the most fans among people who watch the sport.

 

[Fat Koko]

Thank you Tango for posting pay-site articles
I hope you're receiving a commission from them for the people you have sign up so they can read what you post .
As for me: no commission for Tango , because google gave me the answer for free
AI Overview

Based on multiple studies and rankings, Ohio State is generally considered to have the largest and most popular college football fan base in the United States.


Here's a breakdown of why:

• Large Fan Base Size:
  Studies consistently place Ohio State at the top of lists ranking college football teams by fan base size, with estimates ranging from 6 to over 11 million fans.
• Factors Contributing to Popularity:
  • Long-Term History and Recent Success: Ohio State boasts a strong football tradition and has been a consistently competitive program, including national championship aspirations.
  • Massive Alumni Base: As one of the nation's largest universities, Ohio State has a substantial alumni network, many of whom remain passionate fans.
  • Flagship Program in a Populous State: Ohio State is the flagship football program in one of the 10 most populous states in the country, contributing to its widespread popularity.
• Other Teams with Large Fan Bases:
  While Ohio State leads, other teams like Notre Dame, Texas, Penn State, and Michigan also have significant and passionate fan bases.
• Study Methodology:
  Some studies base their rankings on polling data from marketing research firms, analyzing which college football teams have the most fans among people who watch the sport.

The article can be accessed by non-subscribers. When clicking on a New York Times link, a lag of a few milliseconds exists during which non-subscribers with good hand eye coordination can select the text and copy it before the paywall kicks in and blocks access.

I copied the text into a Microsoft Word document, read it, and posted key points in the thread.

 

[BigRnj]

ND is the most national of national brands. I’m very surprised and a bit skeptical it is not ND.

 

[RobertG]

If you read the article the is a section with top ten with most living alumni. RU made that list, with Indiana being on top.

 

[Tango Two]

Thank you Tango for posting pay-site articles
I hope you're receiving a commission from them for the people you have sign up so they can read what you post .
As for me: no commission for Tango , because google gave me the answer for free
AI Overview

Based on multiple studies and rankings, Ohio State is generally considered to have the largest and most popular college football fan base in the United States.


Here's a breakdown of why:

• Large Fan Base Size:
  Studies consistently place Ohio State at the top of lists ranking college football teams by fan base size, with estimates ranging from 6 to over 11 million fans.
• Factors Contributing to Popularity:
  • Long-Term History and Recent Success: Ohio State boasts a strong football tradition and has been a consistently competitive program, including national championship aspirations.
  • Massive Alumni Base: As one of the nation's largest universities, Ohio State has a substantial alumni network, many of whom remain passionate fans.
  • Flagship Program in a Populous State: Ohio State is the flagship football program in one of the 10 most populous states in the country, contributing to its widespread popularity.
• Other Teams with Large Fan Bases:
  While Ohio State leads, other teams like Notre Dame, Texas, Penn State, and Michigan also have significant and passionate fan bases.
• Study Methodology:
  Some studies base their rankings on polling data from marketing research firms, analyzing which college football teams have the most fans among people who watch the sport.

Was free for me and I don’t subscribe to NY Times so no idea why…

 

[Plum Street]

1 Michigan
2 Ohio State
3 Alabama
4 Georgia
5 Texas
6 Penn State
7 Tennessee
8 Notre Dame
9 LSU

Then a big drop off.

Oddity; USC was most bet-on team based on BetMGM data even though online sports betting is illegal in California.

Plum nails it !!!

 

[vkj91]

As of December 31, 2023, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reported a membership of 6,868,793 in the United States, which is approximately 2.05% of the US total population.

Not number 1 but BYU there

 

[UMRU]

As of December 31, 2023, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reported a membership of 6,868,793 in the United States, which is approximately 2.05% of the US total population.

Not number 1 but BYU there

Maybe, but without drinking and betting, I'm guessing the percentage of football fans among LDS Church members is much lower than other fanbases 😆

 

[MADHAT1]

Was free for me and I don’t subscribe to NY Times so no idea why…

Then I apologize for saying you post articles that can't be read and implying you don't care if you do it.
Just because this is an anonymous board doesn't mean I shouldn't admit a mistake .

 

[Fat Koko]

Maybe, but without drinking and betting, I'm guessing the percentage of football fans among LDS Church members is much lower than other fanbases 😆

Your guess is inaccurate.

BYU doesn't disclose donations figures but public peer University of Utah does. This article from the University of Utah equivalent of the Daily Targum states 36% of U of U's students are LDS members. Brigham Young founded the school.

U of U reported $29.4 million of donations to athletics in 2024, with U of U football getting $23.9 million. In contrast, during the same period, Rutgers reported $8.5 million of donations with $2.4 million to football. Simple math - U of U football received 10x the donations as Rutgers football in 2024.

Let's look at 2023. In 2023, the donation reality was more extreme. On donations, U of U did $34.4 athletics and $29.5 million football. Rutgers came in at $6.2 million and $1.1 million. That means in 2023, U of U brought in nearly 30x the football donations of Rutgers. That points to a low percentage of college football fans in New Jersey, not a low number among LDS members.

Anecdotally, I did a lot of business with a firm in Salt Lake City and visited the company's HQ there often. One Friday morning during college football season, I showed up for a meeting with the new CEO. Most people in the office are wearing U of U shirts, from football jerseys to polos. I asked the boss what is up with that. He told me he put in a policy that on Fridays in the fall, everybody could support their favorite college football team. He was wearing a Harvard polo because he played ball there. How many New Jersey firms do this? My guess is zero. Most New Jerseyans don't have college football shirts in their closets.

Utah has 1/3 the population of New Jersey and 3 FBS football teams, U of U, Utah State, and BYU. Closest NFL teams are Raiders and Broncos - both more than 400 miles away - when Rutgers has 6 NFL teams within 250 miles.

Few people care about college football in the New York and New Jersey area. Let's just accept it. This will not change.

 

[Fat Koko]

Let me add that on football ticket sales, another indicator of fan support, Rutgers did $19.6 million combined in 2023 and 2024 - $1.4 million per game for the 12 home games during that period. Utah did $21.8 million for 12 home games, or $1.8 million for 14 home games.

Ticket sales are easier to allocate on a per sport basis than donations and other revenue items such as media rights. Accounting across schools on a per sport basis is likely more comparable for ticket sales than other revenue items.

 

[RU#1fan]

Maybe, but without drinking and betting, I'm guessing the percentage of football fans among LDS Church members is much lower than other fanbases 😆

This… and not even a cup of coffee in the morning

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

Without looking at the list, it has to be Ohio State, Texas and to a lesser extent, Nebraska

Everyone else, at least in regard combining overall fans, and taking over stadiums, is behind them

You’re confusing passion with pure numbers … Nebraska isn’t CLOSE to those two. Nebraska simply has a much higher percentage of their fans who will go travel to an away game.

 

[TRU2RU]

Let me add that on football ticket sales, another indicator of fan support, Rutgers did $19.6 million combined in 2023 and 2024 - $1.4 million per game for the 12 home games during that period. Utah did $21.8 million for 12 home games, or $1.8 million for 14 home games.

Ticket sales are easier to allocate on a per sport basis than donations and other revenue items such as media rights. Accounting across schools on a per sport basis is likely more comparable for ticket sales than other revenue items.

Funny you mention University of Utah, the Utes became a major player of sports under the leadership of a Rutgers former basketball player Dr. Chris Hill, who was their Athletic Director from 1987 till 2018, during his time there he hired the likes of Urban Meyer, Kyle Wittingham & in basketball Rick Majerus. Chris would have been a home run hire for Rutgers as both he & his brother Mo Hill, who was a Rutgers football player, are strong supporters of RU, & I was told by some of their close friends that Chris expressed interest in the RU Athletic Director position multiple times to no avail.

 

[Fat Koko]

Funny you mention University of Utah, the Utes became a major player of sports under the leadership of a Rutgers former basketball player Dr. Chris Hill, who was their Athletic Director from 1987 till 2018, during his time there he hired the likes of Urban Meyer, Kyle Wittingham & in basketball Rick Majerus. Chris would have been a home run hire for Rutgers as both he & his brother Mo Hill, who was a Rutgers football player, are strong supporters of RU, & I was told by some of their close friends that Chris expressed interest in the RU Athletic Director position multiple times to no avail.

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I didn't know any of that.

On facilities, I noticed Chris led the remodel of Utah's football stadium so it could host the 2002 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. Would be nice for Rutgers to be a training base for the 2026 World Cup. It is the most logical training base for teams playing at MetLife which is hosting eight games.

Perhaps Chris could be helpful with the Rutgers athletic director search. This was suggested on TKR a few months ago. Chris's bio shows he remains involved in college sports.

Maybe Chris could be the next Rutgers athletic director. He meets my #1 requirement for the role: obvious common sense for a change.

 

[jaydogsmooth1]

You’re confusing passion with pure numbers … Nebraska isn’t CLOSE to those two. Nebraska simply has a much higher percentage of their fans who will go travel to an away game.

You're right, I did factor taking over stadiums into the list
Looking at the overall fans numbers, Nebby, though strong, doesn't come close to the top dogs

 

[RedTeam1994]

Funny you mention University of Utah, the Utes became a major player of sports under the leadership of a Rutgers former basketball player Dr. Chris Hill, who was their Athletic Director from 1987 till 2018, during his time there he hired the likes of Urban Meyer, Kyle Wittingham & in basketball Rick Majerus. Chris would have been a home run hire for Rutgers as both he & his brother Mo Hill, who was a Rutgers football player, are strong supporters of RU, & I was told by some of their close friends that Chris expressed interest in the RU Athletic Director position multiple times to no avail.

RU not hiring a guy who: (1) wanted the job and (2) went elsewhere and had great success

There is no way this is not true

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

some of those measurements echo into others. like TV viewership... the networks help decide who will get teh most exposure.. mostly being predictive of those that will grab the most viewers for ad sales.. but it does feed into itself.

think of Colorado last season with teh newness of Coach Prime. They were given many many shots on national TV and if this article were measured and written then, it would have skewed the results designed to measure "popularity".

It is a noble effort to estimate such a thing, nonetheless.

 

[letitrip2]

Your guess is inaccurate.

BYU doesn't disclose donations figures but public peer University of Utah does. This article from the University of Utah equivalent of the Daily Targum states 36% of U of U's students are LDS members. Brigham Young founded the school.

U of U reported $29.4 million of donations to athletics in 2024, with U of U football getting $23.9 million. In contrast, during the same period, Rutgers reported $8.5 million of donations with $2.4 million to football. Simple math - U of U football received 10x the donations as Rutgers football in 2024.

Let's look at 2023. In 2023, the donation reality was more extreme. On donations, U of U did $34.4 athletics and $29.5 million football. Rutgers came in at $6.2 million and $1.1 million. That means in 2023, U of U brought in nearly 30x the football donations of Rutgers. That points to a low percentage of college football fans in New Jersey, not a low number among LDS members.

Anecdotally, I did a lot of business with a firm in Salt Lake City and visited the company's HQ there often. One Friday morning during college football season, I showed up for a meeting with the new CEO. Most people in the office are wearing U of U shirts, from football jerseys to polos. I asked the boss what is up with that. He told me he put in a policy that on Fridays in the fall, everybody could support their favorite college football team. He was wearing a Harvard polo because he played ball there. How many New Jersey firms do this? My guess is zero. Most New Jerseyans don't have college football shirts in their closets.

Utah has 1/3 the population of New Jersey and 3 FBS football teams, U of U, Utah State, and BYU. Closest NFL teams are Raiders and Broncos - both more than 400 miles away - when Rutgers has 6 NFL teams within 250 miles.

Few people care about college football in the New York and New Jersey area. Let's just accept it. This will not change.

Very skeptical of these numbers given the fact there seems to no standard way of accounting for donations and revenue generated by athletics. Does RU not count seat donations in the total? They must not because just some quick math - RU generates at least 5 million from that alone. Then there are parking donation requirements. Something not making sense.

 

[Mr_Twister]

As a habitual reader of the Irish Sports Page (obituaries), an amazing number of them cite the deceased as a devoted Notre Dame football fan.

 

[TRU2RU]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I didn't know any of that.

On facilities, I noticed Chris led the remodel of Utah's football stadium so it could host the 2002 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. Would be nice for Rutgers to be a training base for the 2026 World Cup. It is the most logical training base for teams playing at MetLife which is hosting eight games.

Perhaps Chris could be helpful with the Rutgers athletic director search. This was suggested on TKR a few months ago. Chris's bio shows he remains involved in college sports.

Maybe Chris could be the next Rutgers athletic director. He meets my #1 requirement for the role: obvious common sense for a change.

Chris is nearly 75 years old, he expressed interest in the RU job when Fred was turning RU into a golf power, sadly another bad miss on the part of RU

 

[Fat Koko]

Very skeptical of these numbers given the fact there seems to no standard way of accounting for donations and revenue generated by athletics. Does RU not count seat donations in the total? They must not because just some quick math - RU generates at least 5 million from that alone. Then there are parking donation requirements. Something not making sense.

This is Utah's 2024 athletic department financial report if you would like to see the details.

NCAA schools are required to provide annual financial reports that are audited and certified by each school's leader. The accounting rules the schools follow are known as the Agreed-Upon Procedures.

These rules have distinct categories for 1) ticket sales, 2) contributions, and 3) program, novelty, parking and concession sales.

On seat donations, the rules state, "Amounts received above face value for tickets used within the reporting year" are counted as contributions, not ticket sales. Contributions is the word used for donations in the NCAA's language.

FYI, in 2024, Rutgers reported;

• $14,733,345 in ticket sales
• $8,539,129 in contributions
• $3,276,931 in program, novelty, parking, and concession sales.

To be sure, schools have some discretion in how they apply the rules. For example, a separate category exists for sports camps. A school could account for, say, sales of Gatorade at a sports camp under either the sports camp category or concessions category, as long the school reports consistently from year to year.

 

[rrdd2021]

OSU

New study reveals biggest fan bases in college football

Your look at which college football teams have the biggest fan bases.

www.si.com

 

[MADHAT1]

Chris is nearly 75 years old, he expressed interest in the RU job when Fred was turning RU into a golf power, sadly another bad miss on the part of RU

I believe Chris' name was mentioned on this board as someone Rutgers should go after when Pernetti left
and if memory serves me correct, it was posted, Hill was happy where he was at and had no intention of leaving for any other school.
It looks like Rutgers could have hit pay dirt with Chris Hill, if he would have come, but wound up
having hired "This property condemned" Julie and her successor Pat "Gymnastic" Hobbs making RU look bad by hiring them and now we have to hope the third time will be a charm

 

[gchicago]

dammit- pay site...but looks like they are "guessing" Michigan

12ft

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