One way to generate fan interest is to reestablish regional rivalries and have marquee programs in the fold.
New York Times data show college football is unpopular in the Northeast Metropolitan Area, from New England to DC. Let’s call it the “College Football Dead Zone. The estimated population of the Northeast, Maryland, and the Washington DC metro is 60 million, or about 18% of the US population.
So, nearly 1/5th of the U.S. is somewhat apathetic towards college football.
From Facebook data, here are the ten most popular college football brands in the New York City metro region.
1. Rutgers – 607,157 fans
2. Notre Dame – 304,535
3. Penn State – 186,410
4. UConn – 150,150
5. Michigan – 144,200
6. Syracuse – 133,900
7. Miami – 77,497
8. Army – 75,345
9. Ohio State – 64,581
10. Boston College – 61,000
Photo courtesy On the Banks
For Rutgers to grow its audience, it must have rivalries within the Northeast and play the following teams yearly: Syracuse, Boston College, UConn, and Temple. The Scarlet Knight would also need to play the following teams on a rotational basis: Notre Dame, Penn State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Army, Maryland, and Pitt. There is a caveat, though. Playing Notre Dame, Penn State, Miami, Michigan, and Ohio State all in the same season would not lead to a successful season for Rutgers, and losing records do not lead to increased fan interest.
Consider if all the Teams in the East played a Core Four rival every year. The Core Four are teams that, regardless of a winning or losing season, are the four teams you must beat to give relevance to your season.
SYRACUSE: Boston College, Pitt, Rutgers, and UConn. Syracuse has only played Rutgers once and UConn four times since 2012, yet its fanbase still considers them its main rivals.
TEMPLE: Rutgers, UConn, Pitt, Maryland. Temple has won three of the last four against Maryland. Temple is 14-7 against UConn, 15-23 against Rutgers, and 7-27 against in-state rival Pitt. Pitt has not played Temple since 2012, which seems like a long time period, and that is why it is not considered a rivalry.
UCONN: Rutgers, Boston College. Syracuse, Temple. UConn is 6-5 vs Syracuse, and won two of its last three games vs. Rutgers. UConn won the Big East Conference in 2011 and appeared in the Fiesta Bowl before the conference’s collapse.
BOSTON COLLEGE: Syracuse, UConn, Rutgers, Maryland. As an ACC member, Boston College played Maryland every year from 2005-2013, and BC went 7-2 vs. the Terrapins. That said, these two schools have similar winning percentages, and things would likely even out over time.
PITT: Syracuse, Temple, Maryland, West Virginia: The 2022 “Backyard Brawl” (Pitt vs. WVU) was the most attended athletic event in the City of Pittsburgh’s history. Pitt has only played Maryland five times, the last game in 1992. Steelers vs. Ravens is one of the NFL’s fiercest rivalries, so the Panthers vs. Terrapins could develop similarly.
Maryland and Rutgers, Big Ten members (graphic, heraldtimesonline.com)
MARYLAND: Boston College, Temple, Pitt, Virginia. The Terrapins and Cavaliers first met in 1919, and the series was played annually from 1957 through 2013. This game is vital for keeping CFB interest in the DMV area (DC-Maryland-Virginia). Of Maryland’s 15 largest crowds, the following schools appeared more than once: Penn State three, WVU three, and Virginia two. In 2007, a game vs. Boston College drew its 8th-largest crowd, 52,827. Maryland fans apparently do not miss North Carolina schools in football from their decades in the ACC. Maryland’s only real ACC football rival was Virginia, with whom they share the DMV region.
PENN STATE: Rutgers, Temple, Pitt, and Maryland all seed Penn State as their biggest or second-biggest rivalry. Boston College surveys indicate that Notre Dame is their biggest rival. Penn State’s departure from Eastern Independent Football to join the Big Ten is a big reason why the Northeast is a CFB dead zone. Penn State announced it would join in 1990, but 1993 was its inaugural Big Ten season. Penn State never joined the Big East Conference. That said, you cannot look at the Big Ten’s Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota, and Northwestern, and honestly say that they are considerably better or have more geographic relevance to Penn State than these Big East teams: Pitt, West Virginia, Boston College, Syracuse, and Temple.
MIAMI HURRICANES: 1991 Big East Football was formed, and Miami replaced Penn State as the region’s marquee program. Miami won two national championships as a Big East member. A rising tide lifts all boats, and Miami lifted the profile of all its Big East members. Miami joined the ACC in 2004 and has not even won a conference title, a BCS, or a playoff berth. West Virginia picked up the mantle in the final years of the Big East, being one upset to rival Pitt from a National Championship Game in 2007, culminating in a 2012 Orange Bowl 70-38 throttling of ACC Champion Clemson.
Commentary: The departure of one of the Big East’s founding basketball members was the culprit that killed Eastern football, even though the Conference as a whole would survive nearly another decade. In 2004, Boston College was co-champion of the Big East for the 1st and only time, and promptly left for the ACC after a half shot glass of success. In 2004, Boston College averaged well over 40,000 per game, but more recently, BC is averaging a little over 34,000. BC is near the bottom of TV ratings within the ACC and is seen as more of a burden than a bright spot by the ACC Southern Members.
A statue commemorating Doug Flutie’s famed “Hail Mary” pass is located on the Boston College campus (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston College’s 1995-2010 Top Opponent Attendance: Notre Dame 44,500, Miami 43,682, Virginia Tech 43,510. Navy 42,845, Syracuse 42,627. In 2013, Notre Dame joined the ACC in basketball, but the football portion of the deal negatively impacted Boston College and Pitt. BC played Notre Dame every year from 1992 to 2012, but only five times in the last 12 years. Pitt played Notre Dame 11 times from 2001 to 2013, but only four times in the previous 10 years. The ACC’s diluting of Pitt and BC’s long-standing rivalries with Notre Dame seems like a stab in the back, while devaluing these Northeast programs.
The Northeast, unfortunately, became a board game of risk as larger Conferences divided the spoils. The ACC’s only interest in Boston College, Syracuse, and Pitt seems to be to dismantle competition from the Big East. The B1G Ten’s only interest in Rutgers and Maryland was cable subscription households for the B1G Ten Network. Neither conference is tapping into the Northeast’s potential to generate more revenue for them.
The obstacle for college Football in the Northeast remains the abundance of professional teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, consuming most of the viewership. The Northeast has never been a powerhouse, and with a lack of homegrown talent, it likely never will.
Since the collapse of the Big East, Northeast college football has become increasingly irrelevant, impacting overall college football interest in this region. With the $2.7 billion House v NCAA settlement looming large in the background, developing the untapped regional audience should be a priority to increase TV ratings.
The only way to do that is to build rivalry interest and have marquee programs from Penn State, Notre Dame, and Miami in the mix. Will it happen? Good luck with that.
