Athletics News

Who's #1???

Louisville market boasts the most loyal and passionate college sports fans in the country, according to new survey.

Louisville celebrates their win over West Virginia.
Louisville celebrates their win over West Virginia.

March 30, 2005

NEW YORK - Louisville is still two victories away from a national basketball championship, but the Louisville, Ky. market can already lay claim to having the most loyal and passionate college sports fans in the country, based on CSTV (www.CSTV.com) information gathered from a recent Scarborough Research survey. The Raleigh//Durham market, home to another team still alive in St. Louis -- North Carolina, along with fellow tournament teams Duke and North Carolina State, is the seventh-ranked market in terms of loyal college sports fans.

According to the Scarborough Research survey, 62.1% of respondents in the Louisville market said they were "very/somewhat interested in college sports." Runner-up Oklahoma City had 62% of respondents saying they were "very/somewhat interested," while Raleigh/Durham came in seventh with 51.9%.

The Markets With The Most Loyal College Sports Fans
1. Louisville
2. Oklahoma City
3. Lexington
4. Columbus, Ohio
5. Birmingham
6. Knoxville
7. Raleigh/Durham
8. Wichita/Hutchinson, Kan.
9. Tulsa
10. Cincinnati

Source: CSTV, from Scarborough Research (September 2004); based on a survey involving 202,000 respondents representing all 50 states

Rounding out the Top 25, in descending order, are Syracuse, Des Moines, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Mobile/Pensacola, Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, Dayton, Hartford/New Haven, Tucson, Memphis, Charlotte, Charleston/Huntington, W.V., Kansas City, Toledo and Nashville.

Breaking down the Top 25:


  • Ohio (Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo) is the only state with four entrants on the list

  • North Carolina has three markets represented: Raleigh/Durham, Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem, and Charlotte

  • States boasting two markets on the list are Tennessee (Knoxville and Memphis), Oklahoma (Oklahoma City and Tulsa) and Kentucky (Louisville and Lexington)

  • Four markets featuring teams in the newly expanded Big East lineup are in the Top 25: Louisville, Cincinnati, Syracuse and Hartford/New Haven

  • Of the 25 top-ranked markets, 12 play host to, or are located in close proximity to, schools which have appeared in this year's men's basketball tournament: Louisville (Louisville), Oklahoma City (Oklahoma and Oklahoma State), Lexington (Kentucky), Birmingham (UAB), Raleigh/Durham (Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State), Cincinnati (Cincinnati), Syracuse (Syracuse), Des Moines (Iowa), Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem (Wake Forest), Hartford/New Haven (Connecticut), Tucson (Arizona) and Charlotte (Charlotte)

    CSTV Networks is a multi-media company that consists of the first-ever 24-hour college sports television network, College Sports TV; the leading college sports online network, CSTV.com; and the first ever 24-hour college sports radio network, SIRIUS College Sports Radio. Through its numerous platforms, CSTV provides more live college sports games, events, news, information, analysis and broadband content, and reaches more college sports fans, than any other company.

    College Sports TV, voted the No. 1 emerging cable network in a recent Beta research study, televises regular season and championship event coverage from over 35 men's and women's sports across every major collegiate athletic conference, as well as many NCAA and NAIA Championships.

    CSTV.com, the most-trafficked college sports Web site, and the CSTV.com Broadband Network consisting of 180 affiliate colleges and athletic conferences, are the No. 1 online source for college sports broadband content, news, information, scores and analysis. SIRIUS College Sports Radio broadcasts a comprehensive package of college football and basketball games from teams representing 16 conferences, including the Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, Pac-10 and SEC, in addition to Notre Dame.

    CSTV Networks was co-founded by President and CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Steve Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN. It is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed the company's successful foray into the college market.

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