Is College Football More Popular Than the NFL?

Is college football more popular than the NFL? It’s a hotly debated topic, but there are some compelling arguments on both sides. Check out this blog post to see what our take is on the matter.

Introduction

Few would argue that the National Football League (NFL) is the most popular professional sports league in the United States. But is it more popular than college football?

It’s hard to compare the two, because they are different in so many ways. The NFL is a true professional league, while college football is still very much amateur. The NFL has only been around since 1920, while college football has been around since the late 1800s. The NFL plays its games on Sunday, while college football games are mostly played on Saturday. And of course, there are different rules in each game (although they have become more similar over time).

So how do you compare their popularity? One way is to look at television ratings. And by this measure, it’s clear that the NFL is more popular than college football. In 2017, for example, the top five most-watched NFL games had an average rating of 16.5, while the top five most-watched college football games had an average rating of 8.4.

But ratings don’t tell the whole story. College football fans are often more passionate about their teams than NFL fans are about theirs. College campuses are filled with students who live and breathe their school’s football team. And on game day, these fans pack into stadiums that can hold hundreds of thousands of people. There’s nothing quite like it in the NFL.

So which is more popular: the NFL or college football? It’s hard to say for sure. But one thing is clear: both are extremely popular and have a huge following in the United States.

Comparing the Numbers

College football and the NFL are two of the biggest sports leagues in the United States. Both have a large following of fans, and both bring in a lot of revenue. So, which one is more popular? Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Television Ratings

The National Football League (NFL) is the most popular sports league in the United States, while college football is also extremely popular. Both leagues have different ways of determining their television ratings. The NFL uses Nielsen ratings, which measure the number of people who tuned in to watch a particular show on television. College football, on the other hand, uses ESPN’s college football poll to determine its popularity.

According to Nielsen, the NFL had an average television rating of 16.5 during the 2016 season, while college football had an average television rating of 2.3. This means that, on average, NFL games were watched by approximately 16.5 million people, while college football games were watched by approximately 2.3 million people. However, it should be noted that the Nielsen ratings only measure live viewing and do not include DVR or streaming viewership.

ESPN’s college football poll is based on a survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 and over who self-identify as “fans” of college football. In 2016, ESPN found that 36% of respondents said they were “fanatical” fans of college football, while 24% said they were “very interested” in the sport. This indicates that college football is more popular than the NFL among self-identified “fans” of the sport; however, it should be noted thatESPN’s poll only measures interest among self-identified “fans” and does not include those who are not interested in the sport at all.

It is difficult to compare the popularity of the NFL and college football directly, as they are two different leagues with different ways of measuring their popularity. However, based on the available data, it appears that NFL games are watched by more people than college football games; however, self-identified “fans” of college football are more likely to be interested in the sport than self-identified “fans” of the NFL.

Attendance

In 2018, the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision averaged 23,376 fans per game, while the NCAA Division II and III football championships averaged 6,858 and 3,113 fans respectively. The National Football League (NFL) averaged 67,391 fans per game in 2018. In terms of television viewership, the NFL championship game (Super Bowl 52) was watched by 103.4 million viewers in the United States while the NCAA Division I Football Championship was watched by 4.8 million viewers.

Social Media

There are a couple of different ways that we can measure the popularity of college football vs the NFL. One way is to look at social media metrics. According to Business2Community, as of September 2014, the NFL had over twice the number of Twitter followers as NCAA Football. The NFL also had more Facebook likes than NCAA Football. In terms of YouTube subscribers, the NFL again outpaced NCAA Football, although by a smaller margin.

Looking at these numbers, it seems that the NFL is more popular than NCAA Football on social media. However, it’s worth noting that social media usage varies by demographic group. For example, Twitter is used more heavily by younger adults, while Facebook is used more heavily by older adults. So, it’s possible that college football is more popular than the NFL among younger adults (who are more likely to use Twitter), even though the NFL has more overall social media followers.

Different Fan Bases

There are plenty of reasons to suggest that college football is more popular than the NFL. First, let’s start with the most obvious one: the fan base. NFL fans are vocal, but they are spread out across the country, whereas college football fans are more concentrated and easier to get to games.

College Football

More than 100 million people watched the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship game between Alabama and Clemson, making it the most-watched cable program in history. For comparison, the average NFL game during the 2016 regular season was viewed by 16.5 million people. So, it’s safe to say that college football is more popular than the NFL.

There are a few reasons for this discrepancy. First, college football games are generally played on Saturday afternoons, while NFL games are played on Sunday afternoons and Sunday nights. This means that more people are available to watch college football games than NFL games.

Second, there are more college football teams than NFL teams, which means that there are more fans rooting for a specific team in college football than in the NFL. And finally, college football games tend to be more exciting and hard-fought than NFL games, which makes them more enjoyable to watch.

NFL

The National Football League (NFL) is the highest level of professional American football in the United States. It was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself as the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, which also includes Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it cannot be said that college football is more popular than the NFL. While college football may have more fans overall, the NFL has more fans that are willing to pay to watch games. In addition, the NFL generates more revenue and has higher tv ratings than college football.