Friday, August 21, 2009

CFBLive! Fan Ranking Index

This is the ninth year in a row that CFBLive! and FBFans have pooled resources and created the Fan Ranking Index. We’ve done the research and crunched the numbers, and there was significant movement throughout the rankings in 2008-2009.

Gator fans climbed into the top place on the index this year, and their fans had plenty of reasons to cheer. Penn State, Oklahoma, and Texas made the largest jumps within the Top 25. It’s no surprise that these programs all performed well. Their teams gave them a reason to cheer and travel, and all three programs have accomplished alumni centers.
CONFERENCE RATINGS
Conference Points
SEC 90.29
Big Ten 88.23
Big 12 87.99
ACC 85.42
Pac 10 85.05
Big East 83.91
Mountain West 80.03
WAC 77.92
Conference USA 77.23
Sun Belt 74.03
Mid-American 73.13
While neither program showed up in the Top 50, Temple fans made the largest drop mostly due to attendance figures (31 spots) and Ball State fans climbed 17 spots due to a strong season.

The best fans outside the major conferences were Notre Dame followers. They led the way for three programs in the west: BYU, Utah, and Boise State. The latter programs are establishing themselves for years to come.

Overall the fan bases in the SEC, Big Ten, and Big Twelve dominate the index. The ACC struggled this year and the Pac-10 held steady. The Big East has the most variance. Mountain West fans were the only non-major conference to achieve an average ranking of over 80 points.

Many readers are interested in the formulas we use for the Index. We combine categories based on objective and subjective rankings. Only the Top Fifty programs are displayed. If you would like to know where other programs are ranked or see programs listed by conference you can make a request in the comments section.

Attendance: (Sell-Outs and Capacity): This category considers the capacity of the stadium though most of the points are awarded based on how close the fans come to filling it. The formula rewards fans that sell out their stadiums.

Noise Production: Fan Noise gauges the level of disruption and intimidation caused by fans during the game. This is not necessarily based on crowd size, so large stadiums with thousands of mellow fans will not rate as high as a smaller stadium with more exuberant fans. Stadiums with student sections located at mid-field and close to the action are given higher ratings. This year home winning percentage is taken into considering as a bonus.

Loyalty: (Reputation & Sportsmanship) Even when the home team is in a slump, the loyal fans still come out to support them. Faithful fans remain until the clock runs to zero, and you rarely see them file out of the facilities at halftime. This has historical influence, but it's also based on the current and past season. Spring game attendance is another objective measurement value for loyalty.

Travel: This is measured by the willingness of fans to travel during the regular and post season to show support for their beloved team. If fans have to travel greater distances to play opponents then this is taken into consideration as well. Selling out travel allotments is also a good measuring tool. Tailgating and game day atmosphere are taken into consideration here.

* This year Merchandising was removed from the formula because those figures aren't released until the following year. The results often combine overall merchandise which includes basketball and other sports.

Feedback Appreciated: Your feedback is appreciated, especially when backed up with first hand accounts of stadium visits or facts/figures.

2008-09 CFBLive! Fan Ranking Index
TEAM RATINGS
Fan IndexTotalAttendanceNoiseLoyaltyTravel
#Program100.0030.0030.0010.0010.00
1Florida95.4228.7829.568.888.20
2Penn St.95.3029.6128.069.138.50
3Ohio St.95.1029.5928.068.888.58
4Louisiana St.94.9828.6629.159.008.18
5Tennessee94.9229.4527.908.758.83
6Alabama94.9028.7828.179.138.83
7Oklahoma94.0828.0328.508.888.68
8Michigan94.0529.6327.158.638.65
9Nebraska94.0128.0327.839.139.03
10Texas93.7129.5327.588.637.98
11Georgia93.5028.8027.758.888.08
12Auburn93.4728.0128.028.888.58
13Texas A&M93.4127.5328.819.008.08
14Wisconsin93.3727.6628.198.638.90
15Virginia Tech91.6426.1628.068.758.68
16Southern Cal91.4127.5327.788.008.10
17Notre Dame91.4127.2826.488.888.78
18S. Carolina90.8727.2826.778.758.08
19Michigan St.90.1726.9126.998.138.15
20Clemson90.0627.0327.458.387.20
21Iowa90.0626.4126.908.008.75
22Florida St.89.4727.0326.868.257.33
23Oregon89.4125.4127.838.008.18
24W. Virginia89.4125.1627.958.138.18
25Arkansas88.5025.9127.278.007.33
26BYU88.4325.7826.757.888.03
27Kansas88.0924.7027.377.638.40
28Missouri87.8725.5326.547.758.05
29Utah87.7224.2827.298.008.15
30Kentucky87.5926.5326.117.637.33
31Oregon St.87.2623.8827.208.008.18
32Illinois87.1125.5326.307.887.40
33Texas Tech86.7624.9126.817.757.30
34Colorado86.6824.5326.387.508.28
35Boston College86.4223.4127.347.887.80
36Kansas St.85.8923.6626.217.638.40
37Boise St.85.8422.0427.758.008.05
38Washington85.8325.0325.387.637.80
39Oklahoma St.85.7023.2826.857.887.70
40N. Carolina85.5825.1625.357.757.33
41Mississippi85.5024.2826.557.387.30
42California85.4224.9126.197.257.08
43Maryland85.3323.7827.007.636.93
44Arizona St.85.3125.1625.807.386.98
45Rutgers85.2323.9127.027.636.68
46UCLA85.1825.5325.437.137.10
47Virginia85.1024.2825.877.757.20
48Hawaii85.0523.0327.047.887.10
49Louisville85.0323.2826.537.637.60
50Purdue85.0124.4125.837.007.78

3 comments:

  1. Why does a school like Oregon get dinged on attendance, when they have sold out every game for fifteen years?


    This thing makes no sense....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Also why does Florida get a nearly perfect score on travel? When does Florida travel?



    Did you people just take the latest top 25 poll and put teams in that way?


    If someone would make the effort to actually do something like this with a speck of objectivity and education, then it might actually be useful.


    Florida gets a better "travel" rating than Florida State......how can you possibly come up with that? Florida State has gone to multiple stadiums this decade. Florida has not left the state in twenty years.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Clarify two points:

    1) Sold Out Stadiums - Half of the attendance rating is based on SOLD OUT % and the other half is based on actually ATTENDANCE. Oregon would not sell out every game if they played in an SEC Stadium.

    2) Winning Percentage often has a direct correlation on fan ratings (though not always). Over the last couple seasons the Florida fans have traveled well. Playing in the Championship game gives you an opportunity to send a lot of fans. Based on the away game attenance, Kentucky is the one program that travels better than its rating in 2008 (we will make a correction).

    ReplyDelete