Indiana-Miami National Championship Draws Massive Viewership Numbers

Indiana winning its first ever National Championship made for one of the greatest stories in college football history, and that was reflected in the massive viewership numbers.

The game scored 30.1 million viewers and peaked at 33.2 million in the first half, according to ESPN PR.

All eyes on the Hoosiers and Hurricanes

Indiana Football — Indiana's Elijah Sarratt (13), Fernando Mendoza (15), Pat Coogan (78), Aiden Fisher (4) and Riley Nowakowski (37) pose after the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana versus Miami was most-watched college football game since the first CFP title game between Ohio State and Oregon in 2014-15 (33.9 million viewers), the second-most watched National Championship of the CFP ere and the second-most watched cable telecast on record.

Even more impressive, Indiana versus Miami crushed last year's National Championship viewership number of 22.1 million between Ohio State and Notre Dame, which are historically two of the sport's biggest brands. It also beat traditional SEC powers Georgia and Alabama, which drew 28.7 million viewers in their 2018 overtime thriller.

Go even further back, and the Hoosiers and Hurricanes' matchup is the fourth most-watched college football game of the last 30 years and the ESPN's eighth-most watched production ever.

Viewers were clearly captivated by an Indiana program that went from the sport's losingest program of all time to a national power immediately when coach Curt Cignetti was hired before the 2024 season. Cignetti went 27-2 in his first two seasons, taking down more traditional powerhouses like Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and Miami.

Not only did that create record-setting viewership among college football games, it rivaled some of the most memorable moments in recent sports history. The NFL still dominates viewership, but Indiana-Miami was the most-viewed non-NFL sports telecast since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, when the Chicago Cubs broke their 108-year World Series drought by defeating the Cleveland Indians.

"It's a great thing, Indiana winning the National Championship two years into our tenure," Cignetti said postgame. "You do it with people and a plan. Can't say enough about our senior leadership and the people we have in the locker room and the people we have on our staff and our strength and conditioning staff, support staff and the commitment we receive from President Whitten and Scott Dolson.

I would like to say our NIL is nowhere near what people think it is, so you can throw that out (laughter), and this team really overcame a lot on the road in a lot of tight games and found a way to get it done, and we're 16-0, and I guess we're 27-2 since Indiana. But we're 16-0, national champions at Indiana University, which I know a lot of people thought was never possible. It probably is one of the greatest sports stories of all time. But it's all because of these guys and the staff. Proud of them, and it's a great night."

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