CT-based Sponsorship Research Int'l (SRi) conducted a sponsorship tracking study on interest in college basketball. The following data is from interviews conducted during '97-98 by SRi, based on an average of 12,000 interviews per year. SRi asked respondents to rate their interest in college basketball on a scale of one (lowest) to ten (highest). Fans are defined as anyone who scores five or greater, and max fans are defined as anyone who rates college basketball as ten out of ten. SRi notes the growing interest in college basketball among young to middle-aged men. The number of male fans showed a significant increase, as almost half of all respondents categorized themselves as fans (Sponsorship Research International).
| '97 | '98 | %
Change |
| TOTAL FANS (5+/10) | 39.9% | 41.3% | 1.4 |
| TOTAL MAX FANS (10/10) | 9.6% | 10.5% | 0.9 |
| MALE FANS (5+/10) | 45.9% | 49.2% | 3.3 |
| MALE MAX FANS (10/10) | 10.6% | 12.7% | 2.1 |
| 18-24 FANS (5+/10) | 49.5% | 50.9% | 1.4 |
| 18-24 MAX FANS (10/10) | 13.5% | 16.5% | 3 |
| 25-34 FANS (5+/10) | 38.0% | 39.4% | 1.4 |
| 25-34 MAX FANS (10/10) | 9.7% | 10.3% | 0.6 |
| 35-44 FANS (5+/10) | 38.1% | 40.8% | 2.7 |
| 35-44 MAX FANS (10/10) | 8.0% | 9.8% | 1.8 |
