College Football: Why is it so Big and What Does the Future Hold?

Let’s go, team!! Across the United States, people are brewing with excitement as this weekend is the start of the college football season. The fans are ready. It’s a time for people of all ages, college students, and non-college students to get out and root for their favorite team. They battle it out on the gridiron.

Since 2021, the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules that were applied to college football have allowed players to be compensated. Some say that this contrasts with the overall ‘passion’ of the game at the collegiate level. However, others predict it will increase competition. It’s important to look at this issue.

However, first, it is essential to address why college football is so popular in the first place.

Why is College Football so Popular?

Sense of Community for Students

According to an article published in the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics titled “The Football Factor: Shaping Community on Campus,” “Sport has been utilized in two primary ways-for participants and for fans.” The reference to sport here can refer to any type of athletic competition. However, the article also points out how “football, in particular, has been the sport of choice for creating a campus-wide SOC for students and fans.” The acronym ‘SOC’ refers to a sense of community.

In many colleges and universities, there are all different types of students. It could be argued that school teams can gather many together. This brings in all the different undergraduate, graduate, and even PhD students in support of a common entity.

I can remember when I attended home football games during my undergraduate years. There was a sense of shared spirit among the student body. Even people who were not big sports fans would seemingly show the same amount of enthusiasm. This was true for those who knew the ins and outs of every single college football division. It’s almost like a feeling of connection with everyone else who is cheering the same team as you. When I attended my first home game, I learned all the football catchphrases and traditions. These have stayed ingrained in my mind.

Sense of Community for Alumni

After students finish college, many remain attached to their school and its associated football team. While this may arguably apply to colleges and institutions where someone obtained their bachelor’s degree, alumni of graduate schools and continued education may experience the same thing. This can be true even if those schools were different from the four-year college that they attended.

Going back to your home college for football games as an alumnus, arguably, makes people feel connected to the college or university. This is especially true for the one that played a part in the educational part of their life story. It also allows people to stay connected with others for networking. Networking never ceases to be an aspect of human behavior. This is true no matter how old someone is.

Sense of Community for Local Residents, Even Non-Alumni

I would argue that residents of areas enjoy going to college football games. This can be true even if they are not alumni or have not even attended college at all. You must consider that there are many states, and geographical regions for that matter, of the U.S. that do not have professional sports teams. You could make the case that residents of a town or specific area experience their own sense of belonging and togetherness. They do this by rooting for a local college or university football team. However, it is in a slightly different way than enrolled students and alumni.

Emergence of NIL Rules

Right before the 2021 season, Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules began to be applied to college football. The rules of NIL allow college athletes to earn a profit.

Before NIL rules came into the picture, I do recall having conversations with people about whether they preferred college football to the NFL. Surprisingly, I heard many claim that they preferred watching college football games. They felt the players were competing out of passion, not for the money. That’s certainly not to say that certain professional football players don’t have a continuing love for the sport they participate in.

College football is by no means as big as the NFL. However, since, arguably, a certain percentage of people preferred college over professional football due to what they perceived as the “passion” of the players, a question remains. How will the NIL rules ultimately affect the competitiveness of college football? Specifically, how will it affect certain institutions’ recruiting methods?

Possible Effects on the Competitiveness of College Football

Regarding the possible effects of the NIL rules on the competitiveness of college football, an article titled “Does Personalized Pricing Increase Competition: Evidence from NIL in College Football,” which was published in Management Science, gave some interesting insight into this matter. A testing method was used to determine the effect on competitiveness, which involved the “spread” of a game. As the article indicates, the spread represents the difference in points by which a favored team will win. If there’s a small spread, the game is predicted to be competitive. Evidence was obtained that “NIL is correlated with smaller betting spreads.”

Possible Effects on College Football Recruiting

An article titled “Show Me the Money! The Immediate Impact of Name, Image, and Likeness on College Football Recruiting,” which was published in the Journal of Sports Economics, examined the impact of NIL on college football recruiting using data from 247 Sports. At the end of the article, it was determined that the data did not indicate any direct impact from the policy on college football recruiting. On the other hand, “the story seems to be that elite programs will continue to compete with other elite programs for talent.”

The Future of College Football

With the implementation of the NIL policies over the past 4 years, it’s unclear what the future holds for college football. Although some of the information I shared indicated that it could possibly increase competition regarding recruiting and the game itself, there are still those who have emphasized its potential negatives.

Regardless, it’s been well established that college football has instilled a sense of community on campus and arguably within the local area that surrounds it. When your favorite team starts playing, be sure to cheer them on with passion. Even with the changes regarding the players of college football, it’s important to keep up the communal tradition of the sport. This tradition has resonated for decades!

References

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15270025241301021

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