Ben Harris
Show Bio
Those who love college football know that rivalries can get intense, sometimes even more so than in the NFL. While not everyone can be a winner on the field, the data shows that many fandoms are winners even off of it – and deserve some well-earned recognition.
We surveyed 3,200 college football fans and asked them about their habits, all the way from how many watch parties they attend to how many speeding tickets they’ve gotten in their lives – and we’ve got 22 MVP awards to give out to prove it.
Biggest Tailgaters: University of South Carolina
With beautiful weather nearly year-round, it’s easy to enjoy the entire football season outside at USC – even if you’re not in the stands. Fans tailgate for an average of 5.70 games a year, earning them our “Biggest Tailgaters” MVP.
Most Watch Parties: Iowa State University
While you may be thinking, “Where’s Iowa?” and not be alone, you’d be blown away by their committed fans. They attend or host 5.5 watch parties during a regular season to keep themselves occupied each weekend (there’s a LOT of corn there, people), making them the winners of the “Most Watch Parties” award.
Most Beers per Game: Texas Tech University
It’s hot in Texas. Beer is cold. This is the perfect equation for watching college ball – and Red Raiders fans aren’t afraid of a good time. They take home our “Most Beers per Game” honors for downing about 6 beers per game, making that good time a great time.
Spends the Most on Food for Games: Georgia Tech University
The South means business when it comes to food – and that doesn’t change on game day. With fans spending an average of $176.25 per game on delicious, hearty food (cooked or ordered), they’ve easily plated up our “Spends the Most on Food on Games” MVP.
Spends the Most on Game Tickets: Kansas State University
There’s no place like home – especially when the Wildcats are playing. In an average year, fans spend $508.89 on football tickets to see purple and watch Howard and crew make it happen. These spendthrifts bought up our “Spends the Most on Game Tickets” award with ease.
Owns the Most Team Jerseys: Notre Dame
Navy blue and rich gold? A recognizable mascot rooted in culture? Notre Dame jerseys are iconic, and even non-football fans know it. That’s why it’s no surprise that those who can’t get enough of the Fighting Irish take home the “Owns the Most Team Jerseys” MVP, with an average of four hanging up in their closets a piece.
Most Rabid: Arizona State
We’re not sure if this really counts as an award or not, but Arizona State fans seem to have a penchant for witnessing or participating in violent activity at games, with 54.55% saying “yes” to doing so. They get our “Most Rabid” award – with no cure in sight.
Best Hosts: University of Nebraska
That “Midwestern Nice” stereotype doesn’t just disappear during football season – it gets stronger. Locals are self-aware, too: the Cornhuskers fan base rates themselves a 9.43 on a scale of 10 when it comes to good behavior while hosting (politeness, cleanliness) on game day, sweeping away our “Best Hosts” prize.
Best Visitors: Washington State University
Okay, it’s one thing to be well-behaved when you’re on home turf, but another thing entirely on someone else’s. When WSU travels, they rank themselves 9.5 out of 10 for being the “Best Visitors” – and they politely accept our MVP of the same name.
It’s also worth noting that the data shows Texas Tech fans as both the worst hosts and worst visitors, and can’t seem to mind their manners no matter if they’re home or away.
Least Educated: University of Arkansas
Ouch. This doesn’t feel like much of an award, but data is data, right? With only 44.44% of the University of Arkansas fandom saying they have a college degree, they (sort of) earned our “Least Educated” award – and didn’t have to pay someone off for it.
Most Bandwagon Fans: University of Southern California
USC. SoCal. That beautiful university just blocks away from Marina del Rey. (And a LIVE horse as a mascot. What?). Even if you don’t go there, you just…know about it. That’s why 8.33% of fans didn’t attend the University of Southern California, and just decided to love the team anyway. Way to go, faux-home of our “Most Bandwagon Fans” medal.
Highest Divorce Rate: Oklahoma State University
Maybe it’s the dry air, the hot hot heat, or the fact there’s a brown tarantula mating season in September and October there, but for one reason or another, Oklahoma State fans are getting divorced – at a rate of 42%. They get our “Highest Divorce Rate” MVP, though it might be a tough thing to split.
Biggest Readers: Kansas State University
We repeat: there’s no place like home – except perhaps the library? The Kansas State fandom reads 4.6 books during an average month, making them shoe-ins for our “Biggest Readers” honors. That’s bookwormy wizardry right there.
Worst Drivers: University of North Carolina
Driving in North Carolina can be quite scary. Twists, turns, steep mountainsides, and crumbling shoulders create a recipe for disaster – and natives don’t seem to mind. UNC fans love their football, but they also have a taste for danger(ous driving), taking home an average of 6 speeding tickets and our “Worst Drivers” award.
Biggest Potheads: University of Oregon
The Pacific Northwest is sort of the OG area for marijuana legalization, and in Oregon, may pair well with a beer at a Ducks football game. 57.14% of those surveyed said they use marijuana at least once per month, making them our “Biggest Potheads.” Hopefully, they can find their way home from the stadium.
Most Caffeinated: Wake Forest University
When you live by the mountains, you need to stay alert – there are bears (and yes, still football). Wake Forest fans in Winston-Salem drink an average of 3.5 caffeinated beverages a day to, well, stay awake. Their jitters earned them our “Most Caffeinated” accolade.
Most Depressed: Vanderbilt University
It’s likely you know the emotional trope of the country genre – and the Vanderbilt University fan base (or at least some of them) most certainly have been through some of those same, sad struggles. Shockingly, 53.40% report they’ve been diagnosed with depression, data that secures them the “Most Depressed” MVP.
Most Patriotic: University of Louisville
With Fort Knox right up the road and a host of bases in its state, it makes sense that a large portion of University of Louisville fans would be associated with the armed forces – 50% on the nose, in fact. One in two Cardinals fans (technically) earns our gold medal of distinction for being “Most Patriotic.”
Biggest Gym Rats: University of Alabama
It takes a lot to survive and thrive in the Alabama heat, even if you’re not on the football field yourself. On average, Crimson Tide fans spend 12.17 hours a week exercising, so they have enough juice to attend football games and live their best lives. Roll tide, roll – you’ve earned our “Biggest Gym Rats” award.
Most Addicted to Social Media: Texas A&M University
With four major cities within a couple of hours’ drive, there are plenty of adventurous, beautiful, and well-known things to do near Texas A&M beyond football – and, of course, they have to be documented. These “Most Addicted to Social Media” winners spend 4.69 hours a day on social media, with evidence of how God blessed Texas.
Most LGBTQ+ Fans: Oregon State University
If you’ve ever been to Portland, you know there’s representation by a lot of folks – and it’s the same down the highway at Oregon State University in Corvallis. These fans love Beavers football and inclusion, with 39% saying they consider themselves members of the LGBTQ+ community. Wear that “Most LGBTQ+ Fans” ribbon with pride, baby!
Most Female Fans: Iowa State University
College ball is a big deal in this corn-concentrated state, but did you really think that dudes were the only ones to show up at the football watch parties fans of this University throw? Come on! A solid 46% of the Cyclones’ fandom are women, and they bring this roundup, along with our “Most Female Fans” MVP, home.
The season is getting underway, and even though there’s no telling who will be playing in some of the coveted bowl games this year, there’s one thing for sure: all of these fandoms are winners in our book.
Methodology
To retrieve this data, we surveyed 3,200 college football fans across all Power Five fandoms in August 2023. The average age of the respondents was 39 years old, and the majority of respondents (69%) identified themselves as male, with 31% identifying as female.
