Steve Hatchell, President & CEO Media Contacts: Phil Marwill | 917-579-4256 [email protected] Alan Cox | 972-556-1000 [email protected] 2018-19 Report: Amazing College Football Popularity Highlighted by Impressive Ratings and Attendance Data College football ranks as the nation’s second most popular sport with 47 million fans attending games in 2018 and 366 regular season telecasts reaching more than 163 million unique fans† and 38 postseason bowl games reaching 90 million. IRVING, Texas (June 11, 2019) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame highlighted today numerous powerful facts from the 2018 college football season that emphasize the strong popularity of college football among millions of fans across the country, including the 56 percent of U.S. adults who cited themselves in a Gallup Poll as college football fans, more than professional baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer. Additionally, excluding the combined numbers for Olympic Sports, college football ranks second in core fans behind only the NFL. “As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the game, college football has proven from its earliest days that it has a unique ability to unite people,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “In an increasingly fragmented world, especially in the media markets, college football remains one of the most powerful platforms for reaching a mass audience in real time. Whether you’re one of the 47 million attending a football game or the 163 million watching on television, college football creates a powerful vehicle with those unique moments that are quickly disappearing in today’s culture.” “The networks, as well as the colleges, conferences and bowls, all deserve high praise as innovators who continue to break new ground within an ever-changing high-tech landscape. There is no doubt that college football fans everywhere are the big winners with options galore, thanks to the creativity and commitment of the leaders of our sport.” Top Highlights from the 2018-19 College Football Season: • The six College Football Playoff (CFP) games, all telecast on ESPN, produced five of the six most-watched cable presentations of the year. • The 2018-19 season’s New Year’s Six were the most watched set of CFP games ever in years when the CFP Semifinals were not played on New Year’s Day, amassing a total live audience1 for the six games of 14,922,000, up 26% and 1% from the second and third years of the series. NFF Release Page 1 of 17 • The 366 regular season telecasts on ABC, beIN Sports, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, FOX, FS1 and NBC during the 2018 regular season averaged 1,802,000 viewers per game while reaching more than 163 million unique fans† • The 38 postseason bowl games on ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, FOX and FS1 at the conclusion of the 2018 season averaged 5,008,000 viewers per game while reaching 90 million unique fans† on television. (The figures include the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, which was played at the FCS level, but not the AutoNation Cure Bowl or the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, both telecast on CBSSN, which is not rated by Nielsen Media. The figures also do not include the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, which was canceled due to bad weather.) NCAA Programs Draw 46.9 Million Fans to Stadiums during the 2018-19 Season The 669 NCAA football programs (FBS, FCS, DII, DIII) drew 46,984,720 fans at home, neutral-site and postseason games in 2018, according to the annual NCAA report. The number represents a 1.3 percent drop from the 2017 season, but it also represents a 25 percent increase from 1998 season and a 145.6 percent increase from the 19,134,159 fans that the NCAA reported in 1948* when they first started collecting attendance figures. The 39 FBS bowl games this season (including the CFP National Championship, but excluding the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl at the FCS level) attracted 1,602,618 spectators to the stands (41,093 per contest) or an increase of 507 fans per game. The Top Ten bowl games for attendance each attracted more than 57,000 fans, and eight bowl games saw increases of more than 3,000 fans. (NCAA attendance includes FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III schools.) NFF Release Page 2 of 17 The game has benefited enormously from the commitment of every major media sports outlet, including the ABC, beIN Sports, Big Ten Network, BYUtv, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN+, FOX, FS1, FOX College Sports, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports Net, Longhorn Network, NBC, NBC Sports Network, Pac-12 Networks, ROOT Sports, SEC Network, Stadium and multiple regional and local outlets. Throughout the regular and bowl seasons, these outlets continue to capitalize on college football’s ever-increasing popularity to produce an increasingly dynamic product that engages fans on new levels. Regular Season Attendance Highlights • Overall attendance for NCAA football games across all divisions (FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III) drew 46,984,720 fans at home games, neutral-site games and postseason games in 2018. The number represents a 1.3 percent drop from the 2017 season, but it also represents a 25 percent increase from 1998 season and a 145.6 percent increase from the 19,134,159 fans that the NCAA reported in 1948* when they first started collecting attendance figures. • The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) drew 36,707,511 spectators for an average of 41,856 fans per game. • The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) pulled in 5,253,371 fans for an average of 7,853 followed by Division II with 2,751,966 for a 3,075 average and Division III with 2,135,065 for a 1,705 average. • The SEC led all FBS conferences in attendance for the 21st straight year, averaging 73,994 fans per game or a total of 7,473,374 in 2018, followed by the Big Ten (65,376), Big 12 (56,986), ACC (48,820) and Pac-12 (46,442). • Michigan led all FBS schools again with an average attendance of 110,737 fans per home game in 2018. Four other schools also averaged more than 100,000 fans per home game: Penn State (105,485), Ohio State (101,947), Alabama (101,562) and LSU (100,819). Rounding out the 2018 Top Ten leaders for average home team attendance were: Texas A&M (99,844), Texas (97,713), Tennessee (92,984), Georgia (92,746) and Nebraska (89,034). Other universities with more than 80,000 fans per home game included Oklahoma (86,735), Auburn (84,462), Florida (82,328) and Clemson (80,400). • Michigan has led the nation in attendance for 42 of the past 44 seasons. (The two breaks occurred with a No. 3 ranking in 2014 and No. 2 ranking in 1997.) The Wolverines have now played before 100,000-plus fans for a record 286 straight home games, a streak that extends back to Nov. 8, 1975. • Alabama led the nation for total fan attendance, attracting 1,313,670 spectators to all of their games in 2018, including home, away, neutral and postseason tilts. Thirteen other teams eclipsed the million mark in 2018: Ohio State (1,220,635), Michigan (1,200,619), Georgia (1,189,563), LSU (1,174,526), Texas A&M (1,114,219), Penn State (1,098,807), Clemson (1,077,480), Oklahoma (1,073,464), Texas (1,063,160), Auburn (1,032,450), Nebraska (1,031,202) and Tennessee (1,011,516). • Nebraska continued its NCAA-record streak of 368 consecutive home sellouts, a stretch that dates back to Nov. 3, 1962, at Memorial Stadium. The stadium has a current capacity NFF Release Page 3 of 17 of 85,458, and the Huskers averaged 89,034 at its home games during the 2018 season for a total attendance of 623,240 at seven games. Notre Dame holds the second longest sellout streak, which started in 1974, continuing through the 2018 season and now at 268 games. • The top 10 FBS schools with the largest increases in attendance all averaged more than 3,200 additional fans per game with Northwestern leading the way with 8,020 additional fans at each game, followed by UCF (7,173), South Florida (7,116), California (6,318), Pittsburgh (5,401), Buffalo (5,030), Texas (4,935), Louisiana-Monroe (4,282), Louisville (4,091) and Purdue (3,236). • The top 10 FBS schools with the largest percentage increases in attendance included Louisiana-Monroe (43.1%), Buffalo (37.7%), South Florida (22.7%), Northwestern (22.4%), UCF (19.5%), Louisiana (17.8%), California (17.3%), Western Michigan (15.2%), Pittsburgh (14.9%) and Marshall (10.68.%). • Georgia currently boasts a streak of 71 consecutive sell-outs. • Boise State’s average home attendance was 33,068, a 5.9 percent increase from the prior year and leading the Mountain West Conference. • South Florida football posted its best home attendance average in six seasons with an average of 38,517 fans for six home games or an increase of more than 7,116 fans per game over the 2017 season. • Troy set a single-season attendance record for the third consecutive year, averaging 24,527 fans during its six home games. The home opener between Troy and Boise State drew a record crowd of 29,612, and the season saw a record 147,160 fans attend games. • North Texas attracted more fans (140,131) in 2018 than any of the previous eight seasons that Apogee Stadium has been open. The total marked a 4.4 percent increase above last season, which was the previous high-water mark.