I've seen NCAA references on American sports broadcasts and in the newspapers. Are college sports actually followed by people who aren't students of the university or family of players? How common is it? What sports do you follow? Thank you.
47 comments
10s of millions of people yes.
It’s March Madness currently!
Very, very popular.
If you live in the south, literally everyone will be watching football on saturdays in the fall.
People will take off work to watch the opening round of March Madness.
Yes it’s very, very popular. They are on TV.
There is something rabid about College Basketball and Football. Since Professional sports only reach so far.
Yeah, it’s pretty big here. Even as a child I couldn’t escape it.
Not all sports have huge followings. The biggest are football and basketball.
The entire state of Nebraska lives and breathes all things Huskers
Some people only like College sports and only vaguely watch the pros. Especially in cities or towns that have big name colleges.
Bruh, why don’t foreigners believe us when we say college sports are huge? It’s currently March Madness. Workplace productivity actually goes down with so many people watching midday college basketball games.
College football is life!
American Division 1 athletics generate more than DOUBLE the revenue of the entire Premier League.
College Basketball and Football are immensely popular and can rival professional sports fandoms and broadcasts.
The college basketball championship called “March Madness” is one of the most popular televised sports in the US.
Similarly, college football has a few major nationally televised “bowls” that a hugely popular.
Outside of those, other college sports aren’t a national concern though some people might follow them.
Yes, almost all of the worlds largest stadiums are college football stadiums.
Division 1 college football is the second most popular sport by television ratings. Only behind the NFL.
Yes, college sports are a multi-billion dollar industry with millions of fans.
I’m the opposite of sport-minded, but even I can’t escape March Madness! I’ve filled out brackets at every workplace since I started working in the 90s.
Its somewhat region-specific. Here in California most people are at most casual fans unless they went to a specific university, but in places where there aren’t professional teams it can be a big cultural thing. My mom is from Oklahoma, and college football is basically a religion there.
College is where American football and basketball were popularized starting in the 1800s. They have much longer traditions than the pro leagues. In the modern era, they also both serve as the feeder system for the current pro leagues.
It wouldn’t be until well into the 1900s that pro football was considered anything more than a sport played between moonlighting factory workers and local ruffians earning extra spending money. The college game was the prestigious sport played among gentleman.
This is very different than say, baseball or association rules football (soccer) played in the UK, which started with semi-pro clubs from the beginning. This is why college baseball isn’t as big and the farm system is the principal feeder for MLB.
College football is the second most watched sport in the US, after NFL football. It’s more popular than MLB, NBA, and NFL. They even broadcast high school football games on national television. Americans love football!
How else do you decide what university to attend?
I’m from Nebraska (it’s the state right in the middle). We don’t have any major professional sports teams. College sports are huge. Football, Women’s Volleyball, and men’s basketball are the biggest.
I didn’t go to the university and lived in several different states and still root for Nebraska.
Silly to even comment because the answer will be a resounding yes, but I don’t follow any professional American sports teams aside from a small professional soccer team.
I follow all the sports teams of the university I attended religiously lol
Many people, myself included, enjoy college sports much more than pro sports.
Whole local economies depend on them in some cases
I live in the US South. College Football is followed more closely than the NFL.
The highest paid state employee is the Head Football Coach of the state school. (note, that’s only true if you include what the athletic department pays him on top of his state salary).
ESPN pays $1.3B a YEAR for the broadcasting rights to the college football playoffs. Which consists of 11 games. So they pay $118M+ per game.
No company is paying that much money for 1 football game unless they know a crap ton of people are watching.
Some college football stadiums are larger than soccer stadiums in Europe.
>Are college sports actually followed by people who aren’t students of the university or family of players?
Yes.
College basketball stadiums hold usually between 7-15 thousand of people. At the larger, more popular schools, those stadiums sell out for nearly every men’s basketball game.
We’re now in the college basketball tournament, called “March Madness,” where 68 teams are invited to play in a single-elimination tournament for a the national college basketball championship. Each game garners about 10 million viewers (more as the tournament progresses)
I don’t watch pro almost at all. There are tens of millions of fans. College ball is more than a simple game to many many people. There is also a huge amount of betting on college sports.
We attach our whole egos to the colleges we’re loyal to.
If we see eachother out in the wild, we flash our unique hands signals or phrases at eachother in solidarity.
8/10 largest stadiums in the world are college football stadiums.
The NCAA college football national championship game averaged more than 30 million viewers.
And the whole thing wouldn’t work without the “sidewalk or T-shirt alumni” (people who didn’t attend that university but cheer for it). Without them, alumni alone couldn’t fill 100,000 seat stadiums or donate enough to pay all the bills.
9 college football teams averaged over 5 million viewers for every one of their games this year.
8 of the largest 10 stadiums in the world are college football stadiums
>are college sports are actually followed by people who aren’t students of the University or family of the players?
Yes. A lot of people watch their University teams play sports all the time even if they aren’t in school anymore or aren’t family of the players. There are a lot of people who are fans of Universities that they didn’t even attend.
>How common is it?
Depends on the person or state they are from. It’s not as big as professional leagues but it is still watched by millions of Americans yearly. 20M people watch the college American football championship game. 15M watches the college basketball championship game. Baseball and Softball are also popular with millions watching that. College sports used to be bigger than professional sports back in the early 1900s until around the 1950s when the professional leagues started getting popular.
>What sports do you follow?
I personally follow American football, men’s and women’s basketball, Softball, Baseball, and men’s and women’s soccer. Those sports are typically the only ones that are available to watch on TV anyways.
I’m currently observing at a high school and they’ve had March Madness on in about half of the classrooms. For reference, we have no local college participating.
Absolutely. Hell, if you’re in a small town, you’ll still go to high school games on Friday nights.
College sports is huge here.
Unpopular opinion – – – college sports are better than professional sports.
Just a little perspective, 7 out of the 10 largest sports stadiums in the world were built for U.S. college football.
In the Midwest and the South I would guess college football is more popular than professional
A LOT of people, including myself, vastly prefer college athletics over pros.
As someone who has moved to Alabama from New England.
What college team you follow is right up there with occupation and the weather when it comes to conversation topics/ice breakers around here. It’s not all encompassing, but you do notice.
Folks who have never had a college grad in their family tree are lifelong fans of the major schools here.
The college teams are where many place or express their state and local pride, and due to the time/expense of travel within the US, the college games are also closer to home and cheaper than flying or driving hundreds of miles to see your favorite pro team play.
I’ll take College Football over NFL.
Organized collegiate sports has been around longer than organized professional sports.
College sports games are usually better than the pros.
47 comments
10s of millions of people yes.
It’s March Madness currently!
Very, very popular.
If you live in the south, literally everyone will be watching football on saturdays in the fall.
People will take off work to watch the opening round of March Madness.
Yes it’s very, very popular. They are on TV.
There is something rabid about College Basketball and Football. Since Professional sports only reach so far.
Yeah, it’s pretty big here. Even as a child I couldn’t escape it.
Not all sports have huge followings. The biggest are football and basketball.
The entire state of Nebraska lives and breathes all things Huskers
Some people only like College sports and only vaguely watch the pros. Especially in cities or towns that have big name colleges.
Bruh, why don’t foreigners believe us when we say college sports are huge? It’s currently March Madness. Workplace productivity actually goes down with so many people watching midday college basketball games.
College football is life!
American Division 1 athletics generate more than DOUBLE the revenue of the entire Premier League.
College Basketball and Football are immensely popular and can rival professional sports fandoms and broadcasts.
The college basketball championship called “March Madness” is one of the most popular televised sports in the US.
Similarly, college football has a few major nationally televised “bowls” that a hugely popular.
Outside of those, other college sports aren’t a national concern though some people might follow them.
Yes, almost all of the worlds largest stadiums are college football stadiums.
Division 1 college football is the second most popular sport by television ratings. Only behind the NFL.
Yes, college sports are a multi-billion dollar industry with millions of fans.
I’m the opposite of sport-minded, but even I can’t escape March Madness! I’ve filled out brackets at every workplace since I started working in the 90s.
Its somewhat region-specific. Here in California most people are at most casual fans unless they went to a specific university, but in places where there aren’t professional teams it can be a big cultural thing. My mom is from Oklahoma, and college football is basically a religion there.
College is where American football and basketball were popularized starting in the 1800s. They have much longer traditions than the pro leagues. In the modern era, they also both serve as the feeder system for the current pro leagues.
It wouldn’t be until well into the 1900s that pro football was considered anything more than a sport played between moonlighting factory workers and local ruffians earning extra spending money. The college game was the prestigious sport played among gentleman.
This is very different than say, baseball or association rules football (soccer) played in the UK, which started with semi-pro clubs from the beginning. This is why college baseball isn’t as big and the farm system is the principal feeder for MLB.
College football is the second most watched sport in the US, after NFL football. It’s more popular than MLB, NBA, and NFL. They even broadcast high school football games on national television. Americans love football!
How else do you decide what university to attend?
I’m from Nebraska (it’s the state right in the middle). We don’t have any major professional sports teams. College sports are huge. Football, Women’s Volleyball, and men’s basketball are the biggest.
I didn’t go to the university and lived in several different states and still root for Nebraska.
Silly to even comment because the answer will be a resounding yes, but I don’t follow any professional American sports teams aside from a small professional soccer team.
I follow all the sports teams of the university I attended religiously lol
Many people, myself included, enjoy college sports much more than pro sports.
Whole local economies depend on them in some cases
I live in the US South. College Football is followed more closely than the NFL.
The highest paid state employee is the Head Football Coach of the state school. (note, that’s only true if you include what the athletic department pays him on top of his state salary).
ESPN pays $1.3B a YEAR for the broadcasting rights to the college football playoffs. Which consists of 11 games. So they pay $118M+ per game.
No company is paying that much money for 1 football game unless they know a crap ton of people are watching.
Some college football stadiums are larger than soccer stadiums in Europe.
>Are college sports actually followed by people who aren’t students of the university or family of players?
Yes.
College basketball stadiums hold usually between 7-15 thousand of people. At the larger, more popular schools, those stadiums sell out for nearly every men’s basketball game.
We’re now in the college basketball tournament, called “March Madness,” where 68 teams are invited to play in a single-elimination tournament for a the national college basketball championship. Each game garners about 10 million viewers (more as the tournament progresses)
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2025/04/02/with-3-games-left-mens-march-madness-is-averaging-94-million-viewers/](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2025/04/02/with-3-games-left-mens-march-madness-is-averaging-94-million-viewers/)
People care so much that they plan their vascectomies during March Madness so they can stay home and watch games.
[https://www.sciencealert.com/march-madness-vasectomies-spike-during-major-basketball-event-but-why&](https://www.sciencealert.com/march-madness-vasectomies-spike-during-major-basketball-event-but-why&😉
Some estimates show a loss of $12 Billion in productivity during the tournament.
[https://thehill.com/policy/keeping-score/5788140-billion-dollar-march-madness-loss/](https://thehill.com/policy/keeping-score/5788140-billion-dollar-march-madness-loss/)
Because of changes in the law, college players can now be paid essentially like pros. And they are.
*Women’s* basketball players are being paid more than $1 million to play for colleges.
[https://thesource.com/2026/03/20/female-college-basketball-players-with-biggest-nil-deals/](https://thesource.com/2026/03/20/female-college-basketball-players-with-biggest-nil-deals/)
Men are bringing in multiple times that.
[https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/highest-paid-college-basketball-players/188de25d54e951127051980b](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/highest-paid-college-basketball-players/188de25d54e951127051980b)
(Don’t look up what football players make)
I don’t watch pro almost at all. There are tens of millions of fans. College ball is more than a simple game to many many people. There is also a huge amount of betting on college sports.
We attach our whole egos to the colleges we’re loyal to.
If we see eachother out in the wild, we flash our unique hands signals or phrases at eachother in solidarity.
8/10 largest stadiums in the world are college football stadiums.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity
The NCAA college football national championship game averaged more than 30 million viewers.
And the whole thing wouldn’t work without the “sidewalk or T-shirt alumni” (people who didn’t attend that university but cheer for it). Without them, alumni alone couldn’t fill 100,000 seat stadiums or donate enough to pay all the bills.
9 college football teams averaged over 5 million viewers for every one of their games this year.
8 of the largest 10 stadiums in the world are college football stadiums
>are college sports are actually followed by people who aren’t students of the University or family of the players?
Yes. A lot of people watch their University teams play sports all the time even if they aren’t in school anymore or aren’t family of the players. There are a lot of people who are fans of Universities that they didn’t even attend.
>How common is it?
Depends on the person or state they are from. It’s not as big as professional leagues but it is still watched by millions of Americans yearly. 20M people watch the college American football championship game. 15M watches the college basketball championship game. Baseball and Softball are also popular with millions watching that. College sports used to be bigger than professional sports back in the early 1900s until around the 1950s when the professional leagues started getting popular.
>What sports do you follow?
I personally follow American football, men’s and women’s basketball, Softball, Baseball, and men’s and women’s soccer. Those sports are typically the only ones that are available to watch on TV anyways.
I’m currently observing at a high school and they’ve had March Madness on in about half of the classrooms. For reference, we have no local college participating.
Absolutely. Hell, if you’re in a small town, you’ll still go to high school games on Friday nights.
College sports is huge here.
Unpopular opinion – – – college sports are better than professional sports.
Just a little perspective, 7 out of the 10 largest sports stadiums in the world were built for U.S. college football.
In the Midwest and the South I would guess college football is more popular than professional
A LOT of people, including myself, vastly prefer college athletics over pros.
As someone who has moved to Alabama from New England.
What college team you follow is right up there with occupation and the weather when it comes to conversation topics/ice breakers around here. It’s not all encompassing, but you do notice.
Folks who have never had a college grad in their family tree are lifelong fans of the major schools here.
The college teams are where many place or express their state and local pride, and due to the time/expense of travel within the US, the college games are also closer to home and cheaper than flying or driving hundreds of miles to see your favorite pro team play.
I’ll take College Football over NFL.
Organized collegiate sports has been around longer than organized professional sports.
College sports games are usually better than the pros.