2021 Best Cities for College Basketball Fans + March Madness

The COVID-pandemic has dramatically changed the way for in-person college basketball games but that doesn’t damper the spirit of sport fans as March Madness 2021 approaches. The NCAA announced “a limited number of fans at the 2021 Division I Men's Basketball Championship, including all rounds and the Final Four" will be permitted.

With March Madness less than a week away, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its March Madness Stats & Facts infographic, as well as its report on 2021’s Best Cities for College Basketball Fans.

To find 2021’s top spots for NCAA hoops, they crunched the numbers on more than 290 cities using nine key metrics. They range from the number of teams per city and the winning percentage of each to stadium capacity and social-media engagement.

Best vs. Worst

• The Gonzaga Bulldogs have the highest current winning percentage among college basketball teams, 89.87%, which is 8.3 times higher than the winning percentage of the Chicago State Cougars, the team with the lowest at 10.85%.
• Charlotte, North Carolina, Terre Haute, Indiana and Ithaca, New York, have the least expensive season tickets, starting at $49, which is 19.9 times less than a season of hoops in Lawrence, Kansas, at $975.
• Thanks to John Wooden and UCLA, Los Angeles is home to the country’s most national championship banners (11), while Philadelphia has the most regular season titles (93).

WalletHub Q & A

What, in your mind, makes a good college basketball fan?

“I think what makes a good college basketball fan is no different than what it means to be a good fan of any sport,” said Cory Hillman, PhD, Ashland University. “Today, we tend to think a good fan is either a die-hard loyalist to a team or a “fanalyst” with expert and detailed knowledge of everything. However, I think a good fan goes beyond that and includes someone who appreciates the unique aesthetic of a sport like a basketball, its long history, and cultural roots, and who can watch and appreciate the game at any level at which is played.”

“Passion makes a good college basketball fan, “ said Jay Gilmore, M.A., University of Memphis. “You cannot be a fan and have a passing interest. You must be passionate. However, your passion cannot carry over into disrespect for your home team. Some fans allow their passion to poison their fanbase. Passion for the game, support for your team, and respect for opponents make good fans.”

What do you think is the best city for college basketball fans and why?

“Regardless of where your allegiance lies, the best city for college basketball fans is undoubtedly the Durham / Chapel Hill, North Carolina area,” said Micah J. Natale, Ed.D, Shorter University. “The quality, history, rivalry, and heritage of the college basketball programs are top-notch, all separated by Tobacco Road.”

Do you have any tips for how basketball fans can enjoy the sport without breaking the bank?

“Do not bet is the best tip,” said Alan Zaremba, PhD, Northeastern University; Author of The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas. “But if you do, do not bet a lot. Unless you believe, foolishly, that you can make money betting on college basketball games (that are, essentially, a toss-up with the spread) just make small bets and you will get a charge out of winning and will not worry about the rent if you lose.”

In your opinion, what will be the financial toll of the pandemic on the basketball industry?

“If we are sticking with college basketball, there has been and will continue to be a financial toll,” said Matt Fine, Temple University. “But nothing like what some of the other Olympic-type sports are feeling. Colleges have already started cutting programs. And this is not just happening at smaller schools. Stanford, George Washington, William and Mary, UConn – this is just a small list of school cutting programs. But because basketball, along with football, is one of the biggest moneymakers – you will not see basketball programs being cut. Instead, the financial toll is something that the average fan might not even notice. It might include fewer long road trips that change a plane ride into a bus ride. It might also include fewer games. But before that, the changes will come behind the scenes with budget cuts to parts of staffing, support staff salaries, and use of facilities. But again, sports like basketball and football will see the least impact. It is basketball and football that hold up the other sports. Losing either sport at any school would be very counterproductive to the health of its athletic department.”

To read the full report and to see where your city ranks, please visit:

http://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-college-basketball/32944