The biggest stories of the college football season so far have happened off the field.
Schools and conferences have clashed over the eligibility of athletes with “professional” experience. The Protect College Sports Act is receiving a push for a vote in Congress, including Senator Ted Cruz’s appearance on College GameDay this past weekend. Debates continue over the growing imbalance in power among the major conferences.
The business of college sports looks dramatically different than it did a decade ago, but are these changes impacting fans’ interest?
For the past few years, Sports Poll™ has asked college sports fans how the biggest changes (conference realignment, paying college athletes, and the transfer portal) have impacted their interest. Even though these issues may seem pervasive in the media, the reality is that most college fans are unaware or say they’ve had no impact.
Fans are the most aware of paying college athletes, but nearly 40% say it has had no impact on their interest in college sports. More than half of college fans are unaware of conference realignment and the transfer portal. Even among those who are aware, they’re most likely to say it’s had no impact. The issues become more complicated when we look at differences by age, fan level, and school affiliations, but any impact on college fans overall has been relatively mild so far.
Reach out to us if you’d like more information on differences by demographics or to learn more about college sports fans.
Sports Poll by SSRS™ is conducted continuously throughout the year and includes a nationally representative sample of more than 24,000 Americans each year.
