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College football's most toxic fan bases revealed in new list

An unsourced Internet list attempted to define the most harmful college football fans.
Joe Cox|
Ohio State fans drew the dishonor of being chosen most toxic college football fan base in a recent Internet ranking.
Ohio State fans drew the dishonor of being chosen most toxic college football fan base in a recent Internet ranking. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Ohio State BuckeyesAlabama Crimson TideGeorgia Bulldogs

It's worth remembering that fan is generally credit as being short for fanatic. While college football backers and rooters provide the color and intensity that helps definte the sport, sometimes they go too far. To co-opt the SEC's famous "It Just Means More" slogan, for some fans, it might mean a little too much.

A recent unsourced Internet list attempted to define college football's most toxic fan bases. It's worth noting that many of the top programs in the sport feature prominently on the list. It's not the teams that never win that create an unruly fan culture; it's the programs that win enough that they expect to always win, apparently.

Most toxic fans?

Ohio State, a perennial national challenger, got the nod for the most toxic fan base. One point of contention within college football circles is the treatment of Buckeye coach Ryan Day. Winning the CFP after the 2024 season finally provided some measure of satisfaction, but Day still has plenty of critics despite an 82-12 career record (and 54-5 in Big Ten play). The annual rivalry with Michigan is a major point of ire for OSU fans, which is interesting since the list ranks Michigan at No. 4.

SEC powers battling for toxic (dis)honors

A pair of high-functioning SEC programs nabbed the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, with Alabama taking the higher spot. The Tide are long noted as one of the highest-expectation fan bases in college football. Some of their SEC rivalries are little short of insane, with memorable moments like 71-year old Harvey Lee Updike calling Paul Finebaum's show to confess to poisoning the beloved trees at rival Auburn's famous Toomer's Corner location.

Other toxic teams

The long-suffering fans of Texas finish the top five in the ranking of most toxic fan bases. The Longhorns have largely struggled since their most recent glory days, with Vince Young leading the team to the national title after the 2005 regular season. After Texas ran off Mack Brown in the early 2010s, the program slogged through Charlie Strong and Tom Herman eras before finally forging ahead under Steve Sarkisian. But a pre-season No.1 ranking that ended up with a Citrus Bowl win will keep Texas fans a bit feisty.

Florida State and Colorado are both interesting picks given the recent struggles of both teams. Florida State is off back-to-back losing seasons and has six losing seasons and one top ten season in the last decade. Colorado has just one winning season in the last nine years and hasn't finished a season in the top ten since 2001.

Perhaps predictably, neither CFP finalist makes an appearance on the list. In the short term, winning might just cure everything.

Published
Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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