Top Five Fan Bases of College Football

Crazy Fan Bases

College football games have become a fall institution all across America. However, the days of pom poms, pennants, and pep rallies have been replaced by poaching of teams/conference realignment, paying the players (legally), and the ever-loving transfer portal.   

In short, it’s a cut-throat, billion-dollar business as teams vie to get to the top of their respective conferences and hopefully get a shot at a national title. 

Then, there are the fans who spend their time and/or money trying to carry their team to victory. These aren’t just your garden-variety fans, but rather those living and dying by the end result.

Suggesting these are rabid rooters would not suffice, and any number of collegiate programs have their share.  

Though difficult to narrow the list to five schools, here’s a look at some of them…

Does College Football Have More Fans Than the NFL?

There’s a whole lot of interest as the college football scores roll by each week during the season. Whether a fan, booster, bettor or some combination of the three, there’s no lack of eyeballs on the games (we’re not even mentioning those who scout the players).

It’s not a fair fight comparing the number of college football fans to those obsessed with the National Football League. Then again, it’s not fair to compare any other sport to the NFL.  

That doesn’t mean there aren’t dedicated fan bases across the country, cheering with their hearts and wallets whether their team is at home or on the road in college football games.   

With the way teams are realigning conferences and players and coaches jumping ship, it’s difficult to keep the score even before the game begins.         

What College Football Team Has the Best Fans?

There’s no direct correlation between college football rooters and college football rankings, but those who’ve invested heavily do not want to be associated with a losing product.

It’s no surprise the bloated (18-team) Big Ten has passionate fans in Columbus (Ohio St.), Ann Arbor (2023 national champ Michigan), and now Eugene (Oregon), among other venues.

It’s no shocker, either, that the Southeastern Conference has live-and-die legions in Athens (Georgia), Tuscaloosa (Alabama), and now Austin (Texas).

While the football team in South Bend isn’t aligned, Notre Dame has no shortage of support.

It’s no coincidence that all of the above institutions of higher learning are usually in the mix to win the national title.      

(Author’s Aside…There was also a fan base out west in the Pac-12, but that conference imploded and scattered elsewhere [Big Ten, Big 12, and Atlantic Coast Conferences], with some new teams joining in 2026.)

Which College Has the Most Loyal Fans?

Loyalists can’t wait until the college football schedule is released to plan their social schedules in the fall. College football games are not just restricted to Saturday afternoons, with other days, evenings, and even neutral sites pretty much a given.

Those who devote their time and trust funds to these major college football factories know this drill by now. They need to adjust their very existence to the vagaries of the schedule.

What Percentage of Americans Are College Football Fans?

A quick internet glance puts 42 percent of Americans in the category of college football fans, with 26 percent of those in the “diehard” district. Those numbers figure to increase during the college football playoff “season” when the stakes and the betting are at their highest.

Any Final Thoughts?

With college football comes college football betting odds as the task of finding winners (via the money line or against the spread) consumes gamblers across the country.