Interest in college sports is on the rise, report says

College athletes and the sports they play are getting even more popular.

University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark’s autograph has been in high demand ahead of March Madness, and college football is quite literally worth billions—ESPN is reportedly paying $1.3 billion per year for the media rights to the College Football Playoff.

This year, college sports fans are planning on engaging even more with those games than in the past, according to a recent report from marketing analytics company Big Chalk—potentially good news for the brands that sponsor those sports in more ways than one.

Ch-ch-changes: About one-third of the US population are college sports fans, according to Big Chalk’s estimate, which is based on the US census and a survey of 1,935 consumers conducted Jan. 29–Jan. 31. Of that group, 1,222 of them met Big Chalk’s definition of “college sports fan,” aka someone who watched (or at least tried to watch) one or more college sports events last year of their own volition.

• On average, those fans watched about 11 college sports events last year.
• Big Chalk estimated that number will increase to 13 in 2024, even considering changes like the realignment of conferences and the introduction of NIL deals to college sports.
• When asked to rank their opinions on NIL opportunities from a scale of “hate” to “love,” the largest share of respondents to the Big Chalk survey said they liked or loved NIL, for a net positive sentiment of about 29 percentage points.

Play (foot)ball: College football in particular is expected to see at least a 23% YoY increase in viewership when including the coming postseason, by Big Chalk’s conservative estimation. Fans tend to overestimate their media consumption, but even when Big Chalk weighted fan estimates with past “known viewing activity,” the company projected an increase in viewership of as high as 36%, according to triangulated estimates.

College sports fans self-reported that they anticipate watching an average of about two additional bowl games, which indicates the recent ESPN deal “is going to be worth it” for the network and its advertisers, Rick Miller, head of Big Chalk’s marketing effectiveness practice and author of the report, told Marketing Brew. (There will also be more games to watch in general: a new College Football Playoff format will increase the number of match-ups played.)

Last year, ESPN parent company Disney had sold 90% of its ad inventory for the College Football Playoff as of the first week of December, about a month before the CFP National Championship on Jan. 8.

Influenced: College football fans aren’t only paying attention to the games—they’re also clocking the brands involved, according to Big Chalk. Of the 933 survey respondents who said they watched at least one bowl game last year, about half were able to recall at least one sponsor or advertiser without looking at a list.

• Of all college sports fans surveyed, about 13% said they “prioritize sponsor brands when shopping.”
• About 30% said they at least see college sports sponsors more favorably while they shop, even if they don’t automatically prioritize those brands.

“That’s pretty good bang for your buck, because a lot of these brands, they’re doing these sponsorships for awareness,” Miller said. “The fact that the consumers are going that extra step, not just remembering who these brands are, but also saying, ‘When I go to the store, I actually think about these brands,’ that’s a pretty big deal.”

Up next: Of the fans who said college sports sponsorship has a positive impact on their choice of brand while shopping, three-quarters (75%) are planning on watching March Madness.