SEC facts

[BigRedBuster]

They always get 2-3x more viewers than all but the highest college games.

How much of that is because there are way more college football games? I don't know the answer. But, if you totalled all the viewers of college and compared all the viewers of the NFL, how does it stack up?

 

[Bobby_Axelrod]

When did Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa get busted for cheating?

I don't believe the NFL and college are in direct competition at all, the casual fan will always choose the NFL because it is a better product. They always get 2-3x more viewers than all but the highest college games. College football is all about emotional/family/personal ties to a school, not the quality of football. People can and do like both, I know I do. If I had to choose between the two I am probably watching an NFL game and recording the college game to watch later, unless it is Nebraska.

I think a lot of folks here agree with you however, and only care about college which is perfectly fine.

Iowa suspended their coach for tampering recently. Illinois has a history of pay-to-play in basketball. Wisconsin and FSU liked giving recruits "free shoes", which is code for something more than just shoes.
Now if you're saying, "Have they all been busted in the last 24 months?", the answer is no. Since I mentioned (decades) I'm looking at the other schools over that time frame.
Films like One on One; Blue Chips; the Documentaries of Chicago High School B-Ball and F-Ball ... these and many more give a window into the corrupt nature of big money college athletics.

 

[Crusader Husker]

When did Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa get busted for cheating?

I don't believe the NFL and college are in direct competition at all, the casual fan will always choose the NFL because it is a better product. They always get 2-3x more viewers than all but the highest college games. College football is all about emotional/family/personal ties to a school, not the quality of football. People can and do like both, I know I do. If I had to choose between the two I am probably watching an NFL game and recording the college game to watch later, unless it is Nebraska.

I think a lot of folks here agree with you however, and only care about college which is perfectly fine.

There is some BAD NFL football. I lived in Cleveland for 16 years. But I get the point.

 

[lookyzark]

But there's no such thing as big money college athletics!

 

[runningblind]

How much of that is because there are way more college football games? I don't know the answer. But, if you totalled all the viewers of college and compared all the viewers of the NFL, how does it stack up?

Definitely because there are less NFL games. I don't know how they exactly compare for overall/year long viewership, but my main point was the casual fan is going to pick the NFL. My wife is a prime example, she doesn't care at all for college football but will watch the NFL with me.

 

[lookyzark]

Its so hard to watch an NFL game anymore. Especially out of market.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Definitely because there are less NFL games. I don't know how they exactly compare for overall/year long viewership, but my main point was the casual fan is going to pick the NFL. My wife is a prime example, she doesn't care at all for college football but will watch the NFL with me.

I don’t necessarily agree with your conclusion. I know a ton of casual fans that will watch Nebraska games but don’t watch the nfl. For the casual fans, I think it has more to do with things like proximity to a team and who do your friends watch.

 

[Bobby_Axelrod]

Stay/last/be around long enough to buy a house instead of living in a booster's guest house/etc.

He's on the spectrum. You have to type slow.

 

[Cornfed]

Wetzel: The big, bad SEC isn't dead. It's just not special anymore

The Big Ten is guaranteed to be playing for a third straight national title. Can the SEC find a way to dominate this new era like it did the previous one?

www.espn.com

Can’t believe ESPN is actually admitting it.

 

[Mavric]

Wetzel: The big, bad SEC isn't dead. It's just not special anymore

The Big Ten is guaranteed to be playing for a third straight national title. Can the SEC find a way to dominate this new era like it did the previous one?

www.espn.com

Can’t believe ESPN is actually admitting it.

Probably getting fired for this:

The SEC has benefited from circular reasoning (when top SEC teams win league games, it's a sign of strength at the top; when they lose league games, it is a sign of the conference's unmatched depth). But the most undervalued segment of the sport might have been the middle of the Big Ten and ACC, notably Big Ten teams Iowa (which defeated Vanderbilt) and Illinois (which beat Tennessee).

 

[Toe]

Frankly, the way things are trending, it wouldn't surprise me if the new dominant 'conference' ends up being the old Southwest Conference. He who has the most billionaire oil backers wins...

 

[BigRedBuster]

 

[runningblind]

I don’t necessarily agree with your conclusion. I know a ton of casual fans that will watch Nebraska games but don’t watch the nfl. For the casual fans, I think it has more to do with things like proximity to a team and who do your friends watch.

I saw an ESPN article today that said the average NFL game drew 18.7 million viewers, so multiply that by 272 (regular season) games and that is a little over 5 billion. Google said there are roughly 1600 FBS college games (including conference championships), and the average is roughly 1.95 million per game, so that maths to a little over 3 billion views.

Not perfect numbers, but in the ballpark to show you the difference. The playoffs would be separate and both highly watched, but the college national title game was about 23 million last year, while Superbowl drew 127 million.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47541246/nfl-viewership-10-percent-season-187m-per-game

 

[admo]

When did Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa get busted for cheating?

I don't believe the NFL and college are in direct competition at all, the casual fan will always choose the NFL because it is a better product. They always get 2-3x more viewers than all but the highest college games. College football is all about emotional/family/personal ties to a school, not the quality of football. People can and do like both, I know I do. If I had to choose between the two I am probably watching an NFL game and recording the college game to watch later, unless it is Nebraska.

I think a lot of folks here agree with you however, and only care about college which is perfectly fine.

25 years watching the Huskers on Saturdays and the Bears on Sundays.

And the Cowboys on MNF, Sunday Nights and Thursdays .....

I don't know when the pain starts or if joy ever happens but... my weekends suck toast

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Probably getting fired for this:

Doubtful. I get the charges of SEC bias on ESPN because ESPN spent loads to broadcast the SEC, but outside of Paul FInebaum the ESPN announcers and analysts generally roll with the best stories and this year they are outside the SEC. Turned out the decline of the SEC is the story, and even Finebaum declared the SEC's post-season performance pathetic on ESPN.

ESPN makes the same amount of money whether you tune in to watch the SEC win or lose. If anybody is rooting in this Final Four, it's probably for Indiana -- the best team with the best story. If anyone can detect an ESPN preference for Ol Miss, I'd be surprised.