College football and basketball are two of the most popular sports in the country and attract fans throughout the US, creating major opportunities for businesses and brands alike. The COVID-19 pandemic turned the sports world upside down, and collegiate sports were hit especially hard. College football and basketball have had to adapt to reach and engage fans in new ways. But with new opportunities arising for brands to use college sports to connect with fans, the future of two of the country’s most popular sports remains bright for fans and brands alike.

• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behavior and the college football and basketball market.

• How name, image, and likeness laws could revolutionize brand integration in college sports.

• Consumer engagement with college football and basketball in the coming years.

• The future trends set to take hold in college sports.

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

Sports entities refer to sports leagues, teams, and athletes.

A “sports fan” is any respondent who follows at least one of pro football, baseball, college football, pro basketball, college basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, boxing/MMA, esports or other sports leagues. A “college sports fan” is any respondent who follows college football or college basketball.

While college athletics span a wide array of various sports for both men and women, in this Report the term “college sports” will refer to the collective of college football and both men’s and women’s college basketball. The terms college and university are used interchangeably, with both used to refer to schools at the postsecondary level.

This Report builds on several titles from Mintel’s Sports and Gaming Library, including: Sports in 2021 – US, December 2020, Sponsorships and Sports Marketing – US, September 2020, and Football in America – US, July 2020.

The first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the US in January 2020. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health pandemic, and on March 13, former President Trump declared a national emergency in the US.

Across the US, state-level stay-at-home orders rolled out throughout the months of March and April, remaining in place through May, and in some cases June. During this time, referred to as lockdown, non-essential businesses and school districts across the nation closed or shifted to remote operations. College sports were completely suspended, and the winter and spring seasons were cancelled.

During re-emergence, all 50 states have relaxed stay-at-home orders and allowed businesses to operate with varying levels of social distancing measures in place. The continued spread of COVID-19 infections has driven some states to slow down or reverse course on reopening plans. During this time, college sports returned in the fall of 2020 – all with no or limited fans in attendance.

Mintel anticipates the US will remain in a state of flux through 2021, until the vaccine is more widely administered.