Welcome to the Digital Fanbase Fan Report
CONNECTING BRANDS WITH COLLEGE ATHLETICS FANS
Brands strive to tap into the passion of college athletics and want to turn collegiate audiences into fans of their brand. Learfield’s Fanbase™ is the largest and most comprehensive database of college sports fans. By examining first-party fan data and integrating it with additional information from various partners, we've uncovered insights into the dynamics of college sports fandom and the common traits among the most devoted fans. Armed with this data, brands and sponsor partners can better engage and reach these highly desirable fans to drive business outcomes.
Connecting with College Athletics Fans
College sports fans represent the largest fanbase in the United States, more than any other sports league. These fans are highly affluent, educated, and passionate, showing a strong affinity for their teams and the sponsors who support them. College fans are rooted in tradition, with their formative years spent at these institutions that create a lifetime of loyalty for these teams, their players, and their partners.
COLLEGE SPORTS FANS ARE EVERYWHERE
42
MARKETS (DMAs)
Represented by NFL,
NBA, NHL, & MLB
98
TOP 100 MARKETS (DMAs)
Represented by
Division 1
College Teams
COLLEGE SPORTS: MOST TELEVISED GAMES
8x
more Men’s College Basketball than NBA
8.2x
more Women’s College Basketball than WNBA
3.8x
more College Football than NFL
COLLEGE SPORTS FANBASE
195 M
ESTIMATED TOTAL FANS
College Sports: The Largest Fanbase In Sports
COLLEGE SPORTS FANDOM IS LIFELONG, GENERATIONAL, AND GROWING.
~260K
Alumni
Average University
~750K+
Alumni
Large University
COLLEGE FANS ARE MORE LIKELY TO:
Attend Games
Buy Apparel
Watch/Listen to Games
COLLEGE SPORTS FANS ARE MORE AVID ABOUT THEIR TEAM AND SPORTS.
College fans report a higher level of interest than their professional counterparts. Associating a sponsorship partner with these college teams taps into fandom to realize business objectives.
74%
College Football
50%
NFL
48%
Men’s College Basketball
29%
NBA
College Fans Are Incredibly Passionate
COLLEGE FANS REPORT HIGHER INCOME ON AVERAGE THAN AVERAGE CONSUMERS & PRO SPORTS FANS:
$100K - $150K
11%
13%
22%
Household Income - $ of Population
Nat Avg (YouGov)
Pro Fans (YouGov)
College Fans (Fanbase)
$150K - $250K
6%
6%
19%
$250K+
2%
2%
10%
College Sports Fans Earn More
NIL Fan Sentiment by Age
Support NIL
Likely To Buy
Recognize Athletes
76%
50%
87%
79%
53%
85%
67%
45%
85%
59%
42%
83%
49%
39%
78%
42%
37%
75%
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
55%
Male
46%
Has Children
45%
Female
10%
11%
21%
18%
5%
4%
9%
2%
2%
Household Income
Nat Avg (YouGov)
Pro Fans (YouGov)
College Fans (Fanbase)
$100K - $150K
$150K - $250K
$250K +
13%
15%
24%
22%
8%
7%
11%
3%
3%
11%
12%
20%
19%
6%
5%
11%
2%
2%
Ages 18 - 34
Ages 35 - 54
Ages 55 +
Featured Vertical
NIL Support by Top Fan Profiles
Trendy
Urbanites
68%
Big City
Affluent
64%
Cost Conscious Young Families
60%
Metropolitan Middle Class
59%
College Grad Families
57%
Invested Professionals
55%
Suburban Blue Collar
54%
College Fan Demographic Summary
Learfield conducted various demographic analyses using first-party fan data to gain deeper insights into college sports fans. These include age, gender, income, location, presence of children in the household, and education level.
Financial Services Spending
NFL
CFB
Personal
Finance
Retail
Banking
Insurance
Installment
Credit
National
Average
1.08
1.08
1.11
1.09
1
1
1
1.01
NBA
MBB
Personal
Finance
Retail
Banking
Insurance
Installment
Credit
National
Average
1.07
1.09
1.11
1.08
.91
.9
.86
.91
WNBA
WBB
Personal
Finance
Retail
Banking
Insurance
Installment
Credit
National
Average
1.12
1.14
1.18
1.14
.96
.95
.96
.95
Sponsorship Recognition Impact
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With NIL Assets
Without NIL Assets
Brand
Awareness
Brand
Consideration
Positive Brand
Impression
Brand Regard
(Higher)
Purchase Intent
(Higher)
1.29
1.12
1.39
1.19
2.04
1.52
1.66
1.56
1.65
1.59
We asked over 20K college fans across multiple schools three questions, analyzed their responses, and presented insights based on fan segments. This provides deep insights into fan perceptions based on age, household income, and family status.
NIL Fan Sentiment by Families vs. Single Households
NO
41%
YES
45%
NO
54%
YES
65%
Support NIL
Likely To Buy
NIL Support by Top Fan Profiles
Trendy
Urbanites
68%
Big City
Affluent
64%
Cost Conscious Young Families
60%
Metropolitan Middle Class
59%
College Grad Families
57%
Invested Professionals
55%
Suburban Blue Collar
54%
NIL Fan Sentiment by Household Income
Under $50k
$50k-$100k
$100k-$150k
$150k-$200k
$200k-$250k
$250k-$300k
$300k+
43%
61%
60%
49%
46%
59%
58%
45%
45%
60%
59%
44%
50%
Support NIL
Likely To Buy
65%
Fan Likely to Buy NIL Endorsed Products Compared to Ticket Spending Habits
< $1,000
41%
$1,000 - $10,000
44%
>$10,000
46%
NIL Fan Sentiment by Age
65+
55-64
45-54
35-44
25-34
18-24
76%
50%
87%
79%
53%
85%
67%
45%
85%
59%
42%
83%
49%
39%
78%
42%
37%
75%
Support NIL
Likely To Buy
Recognize Athletes
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Sponsorship Survey Results: Financial Services
Fans that recognize a sponsor rate these brands higher across all brand metrics.
+34%
BRAND CONSIDERATION
POSITIVE BRAND IMPRESSION:
+130%
+88%
BRAND REGARD:
+14%
BRAND AWARENESS:
+86%
PURCHASE INTENT:
Credit Card Comparison Services
Credit Reports and Alerts
Financial and Investment Services
Investment Advisory Services
Prepaid Credit Cards
Residential Warranties
Stock, Insights, Advice, and Analysis
1.83
1.48
1.44
1.81
2.38
1.78
1.65
1.64
1.16
1.19
1.51
1.91
1.38
1.23
NFL
CFB
National
Average
Financial Services Spending (Details)
Credit Card Comparison Services
Credit Reports and Alerts
Financial and Investment Services
Investment Advisory Services
Prepaid Credit Cards
Residential Warranties
Stock, Insights, Advice, and Analysis
1.92
1.43
1.53
1.86
2.46
1.56
1.65
1.69
1.01
1.05
1.41
1.94
1.45
1.09
NBA
MBB
National
Average
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Financial Services Spending (Details)
Credit Card Comparison Services
Credit Reports and Alerts
Financial and Investment Services
Investment Advisory Services
Prepaid Credit Cards
Residential Warranties
Stock, Insights, Advice, and Analysis
1.83
1.48
1.44
1.81
2.38
1.78
1.65
1.64
1.16
1.19
1.51
1.91
1.38
1.23
WNBA
WBB
National
Average
Financial Services Spending (Details)
Success Story
First Federal Bank Partners With Idaho and Boise State
OVERVIEW
First Federal Bank partnered with Idaho Vandals Sports Properties and Boise State’s Bronco Sports Properties to engage students, alumni, and fans and drive awareness of their products and services. First Federal wanted to align its brand with these home-state athletic programs to reach current and potential customers with high household incomes and families who lived and worked within the region.
SOLUTION
By matching targeted Fanbase data with First Federal’s target marketing objectives and core geographic and demographic targeting, a tailored and comprehensive solution was created to reach fans.
To realize success, engagement opportunities across both properties, including mobile and digital exposure through the team’s official website, social media presence, in-venue features, and radio network coverage, were delivered.
As our bank continues to expand and we work to position ourselves as Idaho’s community bank of choice, partnering with Boise State and Idaho made a lot of sense. The partnerships with these schools, along with their rich fanbase and data, help us to grow our overall presence and recognition throughout the state.”
Jason A. Meyerhoeffer
President and CEO of First Federal Bank
Credit Card Comparison Services
Credit Reports and Alerts
Financial and Investment Services
Investment Advisory Services
Prepaid Credit Cards
Residential Warranties
Stock, Insights, Advice, and Analysis
1.83
1.48
1.44
1.81
2.38
1.78
1.65
1.64
1.16
1.19
1.51
1.91
1.38
1.23
NFL
CFB
National
Average
Financial Services Spending (Details)
Credit Card Comparison Services
Credit Reports and Alerts
Financial and Investment Services
Investment Advisory Services
Prepaid Credit Cards
Residential Warranties
Stock, Insights, Advice, and Analysis
1.83
1.48
1.44
1.81
2.38
1.78
1.65
1.64
1.16
1.19
1.51
1.91
1.38
1.23
NFL
CFB
National
Average
Financial Services Spending (Details)
Credit Card Comparison Services
Credit Reports and Alerts
Financial and Investment Services
Investment Advisory Services
Prepaid Credit Cards
Residential Warranties
Stock, Insights, Advice, and Analysis
1.83
1.48
1.44
1.81
2.38
1.78
1.65
1.64
1.16
1.19
1.51
1.91
1.38
1.23
NFL
CFB
National
Average
Financial Services Spending (Details)
26%
25%
42%
22%
21%
17%
14%
9%
7%
Education
Nat Avg (YouGov)
Pro Fans (YouGov)
College Fans (Fanbase)
Some College
Undergraduate
Degree
Postgraduate
31%
29%
30%
34%
19%
17%
16%
13%
11%
36%
36%
20%
29%
17%
20%
23%
12%
14%
Ages 18 - 34
Ages 35 - 54
Ages 55 +
NIL Fan Sentiment by Household Income
Support NIL
Likely To Buy
Under $50k
$50k-$100k
$100k-$150k
$150k-$200k
$200k-$250k
$250k-$300k
$300k+
65%
50%
59%
44%
60%
45%
58%
45%
59%
46%
60%
49%
61%
43%
NIL Fan Sentiment by Families vs. Single Households
Support NIL
Likely To Buy
YES
65%
YES
45%
NO
41%
NO
54%
Fan Likely to Buy NIL Endorsed Products Compared to Ticket Spending Habits
< $1,000
41%
$1,000 - $10,000
44%
>$10,000
46%
COLLEGE FANS INDEX HIGHER THAN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS FANS AND AVERAGE CONSUMERS IN SPENDING BY SEVERAL CATEGORIES, INCLUDING:
Automotive
Fast Food Restaurants
Financial Services
Health and Nutrition
Insurance
Online Streaming
Cable and Satellite TV
Retail
College Sports Fans Spend More
College Fan NIL Sentiment Survey
NIL is one of the hottest trends in college football, with many brand partners aligning themselves with student-athletes wearing their college jerseys, including intellectual property, logos, and colors.
Fueling Fandom & Connecting Brands with Fans
Learfield is at the center of college sports, partnering with more than 160 collegiate athletic departments to manage their multimedia rights. We are the authority on college athletics fan data and provide data and digital solutions that enable partners to connect with their target audience and craft compelling stories to a variety of fan profiles and personas.
Through our proprietary programmatic advertising product, Fan365, we enable audience segmentation and digital advertising to help over 12,000 brand partners deliver a highly targeted message, including college sports intellectual property, to the right audience at the perfect time.
3B+
Fan Data Points
93M+
Database Records
150M+
Reachable Fans via Digital Marketing
When brands consider who to partner with to connect with college athletics fans, it is important to understand the source of the data, how it is being managed, and how it is leveraged to drive performance. When considering enterprise data capabilities, the following questions must be answered:
WHERE IS THE DATA COMING FROM?
Fanbase provides the most fan connections across college athletics through first-party data gathered from direct purchases of tickets or merchandise, via engagement of the athletics websites/mobile apps, or direct survey responses from fans.
HOW CAN YOU MONETIZE THIS DATA?
Fanbase’s fan profiles and fan models provide the most comprehensive understanding of fan behavior and interests, helping target key audiences with the right message at the right time.
WHAT IS BEING DONE WITH THE DATA?
Data is securely compiled, cleaned, and enriched to create fan profiles. Advanced analytics techniques are further applied to better understand and model the likelihood that fans are likely to engage with different brands and industries.
The Fanbase platform is the most robust data infrastructure in sports – spanning 135 college athletics partners and reaching over 150 million college fans. By gaining insights into these fans, including their preferences, affinities, and demographics, brand partners can tap into the largest and most affluent fanbase in sports to drive business value.”
Cole Gahagan
Learfield, President & CEO