Key stat: 44% of college sports fans say sponsorships favorably influence their purchase decisions, according to February data from Big Chalk.

Beyond the chart:

• The influence is even stronger during March Madness, where 50% of fans say sponsorships affect their purchases and 17.4% actively prioritize sponsors when shopping, per Big Chalk.
• Meanwhile, college sports sponsorships are delivering outsized recall at a fraction of the cost. The top five College Football Playoff National Championship sponsors outperformed the vast majority of Super Bowl LX advertisers in unaided brand recall, per Big Chalk and Yahoo Sports.

Use this chart: Drop this in your next sports marketing or media investment meeting to show that college sports sponsorships are converting awareness into purchase consideration. Use the 44% to benchmark sponsorship ROI expectations, and make the case for shifting dollars from tentpole events to sustained college sports partnerships.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• Second-Screen Engagement During Live Sports (EMARKETER subscription required)
• Digital Advertising Trends to Watch in 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the March 2026 Big Chalk report titled "Perceptions of College Sports: Brands that Won in 2025; Opportunities in 2026." 2,575 US adults ages 18+ were surveyed online during February 12-16, 2026. Of the total sample, 1,457 met Big Chalk’s definition of college sports fan: watched or attempted to watch at least one college sporting event in 2025, and did so intentionally rather than because someone else was watching it.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.