[Sly Fox]

Even if you have neer heard of the strategy and consulting firm Altimore Collins, their recent report on fanbases in major college football is fascinating. We can argue the methodology utilized to put this report together, but it certainly creates conversation.

Click Here to Download the Report



Where do the Flames factor into the report:



In case you were curious, we are outside of the Top 100 fanbases listed based on Tony's metrics.

It should be noted that with the report was produced back in June prior to theannouncement of the upcoming USC/UCLA switch to the B1G. So Tony created the following graphic for what it shoukd look like in the battle between the two super conferences.

[ballcoach15]

Good research, but I would not bet the farm on the accuracy. I think SEC tops B10 on fanbases.

[Ill flame]

It's definitely an interesting thing to look at but I'm putting too much stock in it. Especially considering all of that data comes from before we started winning at the fbs level. It would be interesting to see this updated with 2022 numbers. I'm impressed that we had a bigger fanbase then nearly all of the MAC as a FCS school though.

[Purple Haize]

Good research, but I would not bet the farm on the accuracy. I think SEC tops B10 on fanbases.

B1G schools combined have ~512k in enrollment
SEC schools have ~475k in enrollment.

That means the B1G has more Alumni and family than the SEC.
More Alumni and Family mean more fans.

[Sly Fox]

And there is obviously no way on earth that Syracuse has the 14th largest fan base in the nation. But these are fun to discuss nonetheless.

As noted above, the data is rather dated.

[RubberMallet]

sorry sly i'm not the moment at a place where I can look myself, but do they have an explanation for why OSU is such an outlier out in front?

[Ill flame]

sorry sly i'm not the moment at a place where I can look myself, but do they have an explanation for why OSU is such an outlier out in front?

The reasons they give doesn't really explain it imo.

Imagine if Texas didn't have several other P5s in their state competing for attention and it makes sense. Texas is twice the size of Ohio but has 5x more P5 teams and is full of transplants tied to universities outside the state compared to Ohio. New York is the only other state with as big of a population as Ohio with only 1 P5 team but Ohio is a huge football state by comparison.

It also helps that Ohio St is located in a centralized city that is no more than 2.5-3 hours from anywhere in the state.

[RubberMallet]

yeah I have my theories and those are mostly valid. OH is like the door to the midwest for the upper east coast.

[ballcoach15]

Everything pertaining to football in Ohio is overrated. From high school to college to NFL.

[Sly Fox]

And much the data used to build these rankings is anywhere from 3-10 years old. If you click the link you will see how they estimated potential for fan base since there is little tangible evidence of fan allegiances that can be measured aside from ticket & merch sales as well as TV ratings.

I grew up in Ohio a Buckeye fan since they were essentially the only school with any attention. With the proliferation of all Divsion I schools receiving a decent amount of coverage I suspect those numbers are rather inflated these days. The State of Ohio has a total of eight FBS programs (OSU, UC, MU, OU, BGSU, UT, UA, KSU) which is not factored significantly into the rankings. It is also why Syracuse who no one has paid attention to since Donovan McNabb was tossing passes to the Missile is listed at 14th overall. Honestly they are not a Top 100 fan base in reality.

[Ill flame]

I wanted to get an idea how much the fanbase has grown since these studies were done. Here are a couple quantifiable data points I found.

Athletics merchandise sales increased from an average of $2.5 million a year since 2005 to $3.7 million last year for a 48% increase.

Just since our first FBS season in 2018 Flames club membership has grown from 1225 to 4,358 members, a 256% increase.

Donations increased from $1.3 to $4.1 million over that time for a 215% increase.

Even with covid messing with our attendance numbers early in the season last year that area has improved since they did these studies. Although that comparison is apples to oranges considering most tickets used to be general admission and significantly cheaper.

Google searches for liberty football are about double what they were in 2018 and quadruple what they were in 2011 when the first studies they referenced took place. Obviously not the best way to measure fanbase size but it's another metric to look at.

I have no clue how much interest in the program has grown but there's no denying it is growing.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explor ... %2F09rxlgj

https://www.liberty.edu/flames/news/lib ... -the-rise/

https://www.liberty.edu/flames/news/fla ... s-success/

[alabama24]

sorry sly i'm not the moment at a place where I can look myself, but do they have an explanation for why OSU is such an outlier out in front?

The "fanbase" listed for ohio university is roughly the population of the state... and has no other P5 team. The "fanbase" for UM and MSU is roughly the population of the state, summed by the two.

It is interesting to note that the "fanbase" for the two teams in ALABAMA nearly double the state population. #RTR