New data makes understanding college football realignment easier

In the swirling conversation about college football realignment, many contentions are made. Drawing conclusions can be murky because of so many factors driving realignment. Some fan presumptions are off track in terms of the value of various programs.

It is helpful to understand that as long as money drives decisions – it does and will continue to do so – programs are best measured by their entertainment value. Like money, entertainment value is measured by numbers.

Debating what programs have the best brands can confuse. More precise is the far more precise measurement of eyeballs on each program. New data from the marketing research firm SBRnet measured the number of fans for every Power Five team, plus Notre Dame. The calculation was based on fans that watched or attended a game in 2021.

The data shows 103 million people were fans of the 65 teams in 2021. Ohio State had the largest count at almost 6.3 million. Alabama was second at over 4.1 million. Thirty-one more Power Five programs (including Notre Dame) exceeded one million fans.

The data is interesting on several levels, including a breakdown of the numbers by generation, from Generation Z fans to Boomers. Alabama had the highest Generation Z number. Ohio State had a big lead among Boomers.

No explanation of the methodology used is available. There are surprising numbers for certain programs, but for the purpose of an overall discussion, the data appears credible.

The data and College Football Conference Realignment

The list below is each program, by conference, with more than one million fans.

• ACC – FSU, 2.7M; Duke, 2.6M; UNC, 1.9M; Boston College, 1.5M; Georgia Tech, 1.4M; Clemson, 1.5M and Miami 1.1M
• Big 12 – Texas, 3.1M; Oklahoma, 1.7M; Kansas, 1M
• Big Ten – Ohio State, 6.3M; Penn State, 4M; Michigan State, 2.9M; Michigan, 2.9M; Illinois, 1.7M; Wisconsin, 1.6M; Minnesota, 1.4M; Iowa, 1.3M; Nebraska, 1.2M
• Pac 12 – UCLA, 2.7M; Arizona State, 1.5M; USC, 1.5M
• SEC – Alabama, 4.1M; Georgia, 2.8M; LSU, 2.3M; Florida, 2.1M; Auburn, 2M; Texas A&M, 2M; Kentucky, 1.5M; Tennessee 1.3M; Missouri, 1.1M; Arkansas, 1.1M
• Notre Dame – 3.5M

Admittedly there are some head-scratching numbers. In addition, an average of three to five seasons would be more meaningful than just 2021 numbers (although 2020 would skew the numbers because of the wide range in the number of games played).

What the data does provide is added insight into why the Pac 12 and the Big 12 are under such duress. Their media deals will suffer greatly from the future loss of UCLA, USC, Texas and Oklahoma.