StubHub Introduces Weekly Ranking Of Most Popular College Football Teams

StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, is introducing a new weekly scorecard, the StubHub Top 25, which will gauge the popularity of college football teams among fans. Using the AP Top 25 rankings as a backdrop, each week StubHub will review weekly page views for the teams and then rank which are the most popular. Every Tuesday, StubHub’s rankings will be released on its blog, In The Know with StubHubJo, and at end of the year it will unveil which were the most popular teams of the 2012 college football season.

Previewing the new season, StubHub found the Alabama Crimson Tide – currently ranked No. 2 on the AP Top 25 – claim the top spot on its list. StubHub’s first weekly rankings illustrate that a team’s expected performance may not mean it is the most popular among fans. The remainder of StubHub’s Top Five includes teams further down the AP list: Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 18 on AP Top 25), USC Trojans (No. 1 on AP Top 25), Michigan Wolverines (No. 8 on AP Top 25) and LSU Tigers (No. 3 on AP Top 25). Alabama, USC and Michigan are served by StubHub as their official Fan-to-Fan ticket marketplace.

“Without a game having been played yet, our data shows the optimism fans have for their favorite teams,” said Glenn Lehrman, Head of Global Communications at StubHub. “Right now, we see traditional powerhouse teams leading the way with the highest ticket demand, but who knows what will happen as the season takes shape and upsets start to pile up.”

The rankings are likely to change as game day approaches, as displayed in a study StubHub released earlier this year on the rise of fans making last minute plans. Compared to three years ago, more than half of respondents said they are making more last-minute plans, and nearly 30 percent said they have attended sporting events planned within three days of the event. Further, while many of the fans surveyed perceived that tickets would be more expensive closer to the event, StubHub found that on average those who waited until the day of an event paid 30 percent less than if they had purchased tickets one month prior.

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