Does College Football Get Bigger Crowds Than The NFL? Why?

Football tradition in the United States only grows in popularity each year. But what’s more popular, and does college football get bigger crowds than the NFL?

Each weekend in the fall, college football stadiums across the United States fill up with enthusiastic fans rooting for their school. On game days, millions of people flock to cheer on their teams and create a fantastic atmosphere.

But does college football attract bigger crowds than professional gridiron? Let’s compare some numbers from leagues to get an idea.

According to the FBS attendance trends, the top college football programs significantly outpace all NFL teams in attendance. Teams like Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, LSU, Tennessee, and Texas averaged over 100,000 fans per game. 

In the NFL, 0 teams averaged over 100,000 fans. The stadiums are smaller in the NFL, and the only team close to these numbers was the Dallas Cowboys at roughly 93,000 per game. 

The numbers change when looking at different FBS conferences. However, the Power 5 conferences will outpace the average attendance at most NFL stadiums. 

Why Does College Football Get Bigger Crowds Than The NFL?

Several factors come into play, making it difficult to measure precisely how much bigger one is than the other regarding fan interest in numbers attending games each year. 

There are also hundreds of college football teams and only 32 NFL teams. If we were to compare the top 32 college football programs in attendance to the NFL, college would win. 

These schools draw bigger crowds because they have old stadiums built with many more seats. They also have substantial student sections and many students enrolled on campus, only a short walk from the stadium. 

College Football Vs. NFL Attendance Comparison

The easiest way to see who gets the bigger crowds is by analyzing the average game attendance. We have compared both college and the NFL below. 

College Football Average Attendance 

According to the FBS, the following attendance leaders are listed below. Top-rated Big Ten programs like Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State lead the way because they have old stadiums with huge capacity limits. 

The top 15 college football schools get a bigger crowd than any NFL team. Most schools get around the same or slightly higher crowds than the average NFL franchise. 

However, the bottom teams in college football will get much smaller crowds. These schools don’t have the results, players, or resources to compete with teams like Michigan or NFL teams like the Dallas Cowboys in crowd size. 

Below we have listed the average attendance according to data collected by D1ticker. 

School	Conference	Avg. Attendance
Michigan	Big Ten	110,246
Penn State	Big Ten	107,379
Ohio State	Big Ten	104,663
LSU	SEC	100,596
Tennessee	SEC	100,532
Texas	Big 12	100,242
Alabama	SEC	98,981
Texas A&M	SEC	97,213
Georgia	SEC	92,746
Florida	SEC	87,180
Nebraska	Big Ten	86,637
Auburn	SEC	85,203
Oklahoma	Big 12	83,835
Clemson	ACC	80,694
Notre Dame	Independent	76,193
South Carolina	SEC	75,785
Wisconsin	Big Ten	74,159
Arkansas	SEC	73,155
Iowa	Big Ten	69,250
Michigan State	Big Ten	69,047
Florida State	ACC	67,254
USC	Pac-12	64,487
Virginia Tech	ACC	64,356
Washington	Pac-12	62,933
Ole Miss	SEC	62,575
Kentucky	SEC	60,289

NFL Average Attendance

NFL attendance is mainly based on stadium capacity, not popularity. Dallas can hold about 100,000 fans, averaging over 93,000 per game. 

The larger NFL franchises generally averaged around 60,000-70,000 per game. In college, teams have many more seats inside the stadiums and are less luxurious than many newly built NFL stadiums.

Below is the average attendance for each team, according to ESPN. 

NFL Team	Avg. Attendance
Dallas	93,465
NY Jets	78,009
NY Giants	76,474
Green Bay	76,180
Denver	75,980
Kansas City	73,499
Los Angeles	72,734
San Francisco	71,629
Carolina	71,351
Baltimore	70,589
Los Angeles	69,955
Philadelphia	69,869
Atlanta	69,583
Tampa Bay	68,988
New Orleans	68,987
Seattle	68,832
Tennessee	68,616
Buffalo	68,431
Houston	67,911
Cleveland	67,431
Minnesota	66,687
Jacksonville	66,459
Pittsburgh	66,280
Cincinnati	66,247
Miami	66,230
New England	65,878
Indianapolis	65,559
Arizona	65,203
Detroit	63,423
Las Vegas	62,045
Chicago	59,823
Washington	58,106

College Football Vs. NFL: What Is More Popular? 

Despite the differences in crowd size at the games, the NFL wins the popularity contest between the two leagues. 

TV viewership will tell us that the NFL is far and away the most popular TV program and sport in the United States. 

For example, the 2022 College Football Playoff game between Georgia and Ohio State drew 22 million viewers. This is an impressive nightmare and is ranked as one of the best college games ever. 

In comparison, the Super Bowl draws around 100 million viewers per year. Another interesting stat is no regular season college football game gets over 9 million viewers besides Ohio State vs. Michigan. 

This is not true for the NFL. Every Sunday, the NFL draws an average of 18.5 million viewers during Sunday Night Football. While college may get bigger crowds, the NFL is still the king. 

Key Takeaways

• College football does get bigger crowds than the NFL at the higher levels. The top 32 teams outpace the 32 NFL teams in attendance. 
• Despite the attendance differences, the NFL is still much more popular and averages significantly higher viewers for nationally televised games. 
• The highest attendance in college is Michigan at 110,246 per game and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL at 93,465 per game.