Christina Gough
Research expert covering sports and video gaming
College sports (NCAA) - statistics & facts
Before making a name for themselves on the global stage, many professional athletes become involved with sports at college level as an opportunity to showcase their talent and determination to catch the eyes of scouts from bigger leagues. College sports are particularly popular at colleges and universities in the United States – in fact, a 2023 survey on the level of interest in college football in the United States found that more than half of respondents were either a casual or avid fan of college sports that year. Meanwhile, the average attendance at NCAA division I men’s basketball games was around 14 thousand in 2023, showing that many fans like to show their support in person. Championships are organized in divisions around different sports disciplines sanctioned mainly by the NCAA, which is the largest college sports organization in North America.
What is the NCAA?
The NCAA is a nonprofit organization responsible for organizing the athletic programs of the majority of universities and colleges in the United States and Canada. The competitions are divided into three divisions and are organized around conferences that bring together an average of a dozen universities. These conferences vary according to the sports disciplines and whether they are men's or women's competitions. In an average year, the NCAA generates most of its revenue from television and marketing rights fees. In its 2023 financial year, the NCAA generated 873 million U.S. dollars in revenue from television and marketing rights fees, and this figure was forecast to reach almost one billion U.S. dollars by 2025.The lucrative world of college scholarships
Student athletes are not paid for their exploits, something which divides public opinion, given the amount of revenue generated from college sports and the popularity of the events among fans. In fact, a March 2023 survey found that while 32 percent of respondents supported the notion that colleges should pay their student athletes, just under one half did not believe this was required. There are, however, generous scholarships available to the top student athletes, which cover some, or all, of their college tuition. In 2021, there were almost 30 thousand college sport scholarships available in track and cross country, as well as over 27 thousand for football. Overall, there were almost 152 thousand sports scholarships available to students in 2020/21, with over 3,000 more scholarships available to male athletes than female athletes.March Madness - NCAA's marquee event
The attention paid to college sport heightens each year with the start of the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament – often referred to as March Madness - which is a single elimination contest for college basketball teams. The tournament takes place each spring and is one of the most popular sporting events in the United States. The Kentucky Wildcats played in a record 182 men's March Madness games between 1942 and 2022, lifting the men’s trophy eight times during that period. The 2023 championship game was watched by an average of 14.69 million viewers, with cable or satellite TV being the preferred method of watching the big game that year. The fact that millions of viewers are glued to their screens to watch amateur student athletes illustrates just how significant college sport is to American life.
