UH ranks 3rd in fan base in 2013

A&M beats UT in fan survey

Staff reports
PUBLICATION: Houston Chronicle (TX)
SECTION: Sports DATE: November 15, 2013
EDITION: 3 STAR
Page: 4

Here’s some news that should rattle Longhorns everywhere: Texas A&M now claims more fans among the state’s residents than does the University of Texas.
In a telephone survey conducted Nov. 1-4, 22 percent of the 500 respondents identified themselves as A&M fans, while UT mustered support from 20 percent of those surveyed.
It’s the first time A&M has ranked ahead of UT in the survey conducted by Public Policy Polling in Raleigh, N.C., spokesman Tom Jensen said via email. The question has been asked just twice - in 2011 and this year - since the company began polling in Texas in 2008, he said.
As often seems to be the case, the clear winner of the collegiate fan-base question was “Another school/not a fan,” which claimed 26 percent.
The also-rans included Houston, 10 percent; Baylor, 8 percent; Texas Tech, 5 percent; TCU, 4 percent; UTEP, 3 percent; and SMU, 2 percent.

I copied this information from the Chronicle Archives in order to send it in a Tweet to PacificSixteen. Please note that UH garnered 10% of the vote in this survey. That placed UH 3rd in fan support. I “pointed this out” rather forcefully to the Chronicle staff and they re-posted this article with a new headline emphasizing UH’s ranking. Note also that this survey was taken before UH’s phenomenal rise in 2015 and 2016. I haven’t seen a recent survey but it is reasonable to assume UH has risen in the fan wars.

Note also that UH shows a state-wide fan base TWICE the size of that of Texas Tech. There is no reason to assume that has changed significantly.

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Mike, here’s the thread we had it on last year as they provided an updated poll last year during election season. Last year, we had risen to 12%.

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I hope we keep having leaders like Khator who help build our brand and loyalty. I said it in the other thread Pat linked, that if our current trend continues we will have a weight equal to the biggest boys on the block so to speak. That combined with the fact that future TV money may be direct purchases over the internet, or subscriptions for specific schools, will mean a whole lot for our wonderful university’s future.

Edit to add that I am wearing my Cougar Red today (almost always do unless I didn’t do laundry) and will be going to the baseball game to night with my girlfriend. She has never been before.

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Thanks for digging that out. There’s also the revision the Chron published after I raised Hell with them. They were going to only focus on UT and A&M and totally ignore the rankings of the other teams.

This ranking shows how solidly UH is entrenched into 3rd place in spite of playing an AAC schedule with teams many on the West Coast couldn’t ever locate on a map. Note also Baylor’s slide. Tech picked up some points but still trails UH in spite of playing a Big 12 schedule. I posted last year’s TV rankings on Twitter and Tech doesn’t move the needle in the Houston/SE Texas market.

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Just received a message that the guy running the PacificSixteen account is really a Tech fan trying to promote Tech’s entrance to PAC 16 when expansion occurs. If that is the case s/he got an ear full. Don’t know who you can trust.

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