Times are tough for the Gator Nation as two of the big three sports have struggled in recent years. In particular, the football program has suffered a pair of consecutive sub-.500 campaigns — going 6-7 in the last two — for the first time since the 1978 and 1979 seasons.
Not even a coaching change could help the hapless Orange and Blue as the Gators traded in a dull Dan Mullen for a shiny, new Billy Napier ahead of 2022. The fans still remained disgruntled with another losing season.
A sports marketing firm known as SBRnet recently did a study on the fastest-shrinking fanbases in college football, with Florida making the top (or bottom, if you prefer) 10 schools coming in at No. 6. The Gators have seen a minus-26% (552,494 fans) reduction in their fanbase according to the data.
Also included on the list are the Auburn Tigers in the top spot (minus-47%; 945,599 fans), followed by the Iowa Hawkeyes (minus-42%; 544,136 fans), Washington State Cougars (minus-41%; 126,929 fans), Stanford Cardinals (minus-40%; 382,268 fans), Kansas Jayhawks (minus-27%; 284,624 fans), respectively. Then following Florida are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (minus-25%; 861,466 fans), Mississippi State Bulldogs (minus-22%; 114,579 fans), Texas Longhorns (minus-22%; 690,896 fans) and North Carolina State Wolfpack (minus-22; 150,504 fans).
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