Behind football, basketball is the second most popular college sport. 21% of Americans are “very interested” in college basketball. NCAA basketball fans are passionate about their teams and traditions. Even when it isn’t March Madness, they eagerly camp out in line, storm the court after a victory, and shout catchy chants. There is constant debate about which college basketball team has the best (and sometimes most wild) fanbase. College basketball fans always love a good rivalry between teams too. If fans can’t make it to a game, they’ll be sure to watch it on traditional TV or stream it. For the 2018-2019 college basketball season, TV viewership increased by 5%. With their team loyalty and passion for the sport, NCAA basketball fans are a great audience to include in your digital adverting campaigns.

Here’s a quick guide to NCAA Basketball Fans:

Gravy Analytics used our NCAA Basketball Fan audience to determine the states with the most and least NCAA basketball fans. We discovered that the states who have the most college basketball fans are mostly in the South and Midwest. Gravy noticed that the majority of states with the least amount of fans are located in the Northwest and Southwest. North Dakota has the most NCAA college basketball fans while Arkansas has the least.

Here are the top ten states with the most college basketball fans:

1. North Dakota
2. Nebraska
3. North Carolina
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. Kansas
7. Alabama
8. South Carolina
9. Iowa
10. Louisiana

Here are the top ten states with the least college basketball fans:

1. Arkansas
2. Montana
3. Oregon
4. Idaho
5. Washington
6. California
7. New Mexico
8. Arizona
9. Hawaii
10. Maine

This advertising audience is perfect for:

• Sports sponsors looking to reach NCAA basketball fans.
• Brands looking for college basketball co-marketing and co-branding opportunities.
• Brands looking to increase awareness of their product or service to college basketball fans.
• Sports stadiums, arenas, or venues who host NCAA basketball games.
• Sports marketers looking to expand their marketing to college basketball fans.
• Media buyers looking to extend their sports media buying campaigns to college basketball.
• Advertisers looking to expand their ad targeting to college basketball fans.

While March Madness is an important month for college basketball fans, it’s important to engage them during the regular season as well. Here are three ways you can use Gravy’s NCAA Basketball Fan audience to enhance your campaigns:

1. Target your ads to NCAA basketball fans on the go as they visit their team’s stadium throughout the season. This can include implementing location intelligence to fuel your digital out-of-home (DOOH) ads at the stadium.
   
2. Determine where NCAA basketball fans enjoy going before and after games. You’ll get a better idea about where they go when they aren’t enjoying a basketball game. For example, you might discover that they enjoy going to a particular bar to celebrate winning against their rival team. This gives you opportunities to extend your campaign’s reach beyond the stadium.
   
3. Discover which brands NCAA basketball fans are interested in. For instance, they might be interested in Nike shoes or frequently shop for groceries at Whole Foods. Not only will this allow you to determine sponsors or co-marketing partners, but it also gives you data to inform your ad messaging and enhance your customer profiles.

By leveraging Gravy Audiences like NCAA Basketball Fan, you can reduce ad waste by targeting the right audience and increase your ad campaign’s exposure.

https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2019/03/15/Media/CBB-viewership.asp