CFBLive! - Fan Ranking Index

In the autumn of 2000 a group of college football pundits began to identify and rank the top college football fans. Ranking the fans was an original but difficult undertaking. The team spent months developing and compiling objective formulas and subjective input from media and game day experts.

After months of research the team released their ‘Fan Ranking Index’ under the online name FBFans, and over the last eight years the process has evolved. The core categories and grades are as similar today as they were in the first year of the index. The most significant change is that College Football Live! hosts and assists with the FBFans index and content.

Each year there are questions about the index, and this article will clarify as many questions as possible. The group of college media and fans that provide input into the Fan Ranking Index continues to grow as well. The panelists cover major college football regions and send updates from after attending college football games.

The data is calculated in an algorithm and a numeric value determines where the fans are ranked. Our current group of panelists has a broad range of college football knowledge for the subjective rankings, and it is the differing opinions that make the index unique.

The CFBLive! Fan Ranking Index is based approximately 80% on the last twelve months of the football season and 20% on historical facts, figures, and reputations. CFBFans uses five weighted categories to determine the final assessment. Each of the categories is based on a subset of sub-categories.

Here is an example of how the categories are compiled. The “Attendance” category is based on a formula that includes four different variables. It considers the stadium capacity, the size of the alumni base, and percentage of sold tickets in the last year, and number of other Division 1A schools in the state. This is an important category so Attendance contributes 30% of the ratings.

Other than a category for “Merchandise” the other categories are more subjective. We enforce standards to keep the values reasonable. For example, the “Travel” category will generally have a close deviation among programs, and it also takes into consideration fans willingness to watch games in bad weather. The “Noise Production” category is based on reputation, decibel values (when available), proximity of the students to the field, and on the program’s home field success during the season.

The “Loyalty” category is the only category based on historical reputation. It has sub-categories that include game day atmosphere, sportsmanship, tailgating, general support for the team, and whether fans support the program through good and bad seasons.

We've chosen the categories that we thought best quantify the spirit of the fans, and try to apply quantitative values. It's not an exact science so we use fan input to help find articles or share personal testimony that will give the panelists more insight. While the rankings cover all 119 major programs, only the Top 50 are shown below.

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Attendence: (Sell-Outs and Capcity): 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, therefore 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.

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.

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.

Merchandise (bonus rating): This rating comes from the sales analysis on NCAA programs. This bonus rating partially measures how much National support a program receives from fans.

2007 CFBLive!
Fan Ranking Index

Fan Index		Total	Attendance	Noise	Loyalty	Travel	Merch.
#	Program	100.00	30.00	30.00	10.00	10.00	bonus
1	Louisiana State	97.20	28.78	29.88	9.25	7.88	1.42
2	Florida	96.74	28.78	29.63	8.75	8.00	1.58
3	Tennessee	96.70	29.57	28.38	8.63	8.63	1.50
4	Ohio State	96.55	29.59	28.25	8.88	8.25	1.58
5	Michigan	96.30	29.63	27.75	9.00	8.25	1.67
6	Alabama	96.28	28.78	28.50	9.00	8.50	1.50
7	Penn State	96.24	29.61	28.00	9.13	8.00	1.50
8	Texas A&M	95.41	27.53	29.75	9.13	7.75	1.25
9	Auburn	95.17	27.51	28.63	9.00	8.63	1.42
10	Nebraska	95.11	27.66	28.38	8.88	8.88	1.33
11	Georgia	95.01	28.80	28.00	8.75	7.88	1.58
12	Oklahoma	94.91	27.66	28.50	8.88	8.38	1.50
13	Wisconsin	94.86	27.66	28.38	8.63	8.88	1.33
14	Notre Dame	93.57	27.28	27.25	8.88	8.50	1.67
15	Texas	93.32	28.03	27.25	8.50	7.88	1.67
16	South Carolina	92.86	27.16	27.50	9.00	7.88	1.33
17	Virginia Tech	92.78	26.16	28.63	8.63	8.38	1.00
18	Iowa	92.28	26.53	28.00	8.00	8.75	1.00
19	Clemson	91.91	27.53	28.00	8.38	7.00	1.00
20	Southern Cal	91.86	27.78	27.13	7.88	8.00	1.08
21	Florida State	91.45	27.28	27.50	8.13	7.13	1.42
22	Oregon	90.41	25.41	28.25	8.00	7.75	1.00
23	Arkansas	90.11	26.28	27.75	7.63	7.13	1.33
24	Michigan State	90.03	26.41	27.38	7.50	7.75	1.00
25	West Virginia	90.03	25.41	28.00	8.00	7.63	1.00
26	Kentucky	88.82	26.16	26.50	7.63	7.13	1.42
27	Colorado	88.66	24.53	27.50	7.50	8.13	1.00
28	BYU	88.53	25.78	26.13	7.88	7.75	1.00
29	Kansas	88.20	23.82	27.75	7.63	8.00	1.00
30	Oregon State	88.13	23.38	27.88	8.00	7.88	1.00
31	Washington	88.11	25.66	26.75	7.50	7.13	1.08
32	Boston College	87.78	23.66	27.63	8.00	7.50	1.00
33	Kansas State	87.70	23.78	27.13	7.63	8.00	1.17
34	Illinois	87.61	24.03	27.38	7.88	7.00	1.33
35	Virginia	87.32	25.28	26.25	7.75	6.88	1.17
36	Utah	87.41	23.41	27.25	8.00	7.75	1.00
37	Purdue	87.20	25.16	26.50	7.00	7.38	1.17
38	Missouri	87.07	24.78	25.88	7.63	7.63	1.17
39	Texas Tech	87.07	24.53	26.63	7.75	7.00	1.17
40	UCLA	87.03	26.03	26.00	7.00	7.00	1.00
41	Maryland	87.03	24.53	27.50	7.63	6.13	1.25
42	Louisville	87.03	23.28	27.38	7.88	7.50	1.00
43	Hawaii	86.78	23.16	27.75	7.88	7.00	1.00
44	Boise State	86.67	22.04	27.88	8.00	7.75	1.00
45	California	86.53	25.28	26.13	7.38	6.75	1.00
46	Rutgers	86.53	23.91	27.63	7.63	6.38	1.00
47	Oklahoma State	86.53	22.91	27.38	7.88	7.38	1.00
48	Mississippi	86.41	23.78	27.25	7.38	7.00	1.00
49	North Carolina	86.36	25.16	26.00	7.50	6.38	1.33
50	Arizona State	86.16	25.03	26.25	7.38	6.50	1.00