When it comes to the landscape of college football in today’s day and age, one of the most important numbers to track doesn’t have to do with a team’s success on the field, but rather the number of eyeballs they garner off of it.
In the world of conference realignment, the idea of TV ratings has become ever more important. With teams like Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, followed by USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington fleeing the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, the game has changed. You now have teams like Oregon State and Washington State — two successful football programs in the grand scheme of things — who have been left by the wayside largely because they don’t garner a ton of eyeballs.
While the college football world has completely changed over the past year with the death of the Pac-12, it’s not hard to see the reasoning for it all when you look at the numbers and follow the money. If you pay attention to TV ratings, it makes sense that networks like FOX, ABC, CBS, etc. are willing to dish out large checks to the schools that garner the most eyeballs.
So when looking at the new conference layout in the world of college athletics, what can we learn about the lay of the land when it comes to TV ratings? Take a look at the top-25 most-watched teams from last season and keep in mind the conference affiliation for each as you go along:
All stats come from The Action Network and Sports Media Watch.
