WVU Football Carries Largest Social Media Following in New Big 12

As WVU football head coach Neal Brown recently said, conference realignment is all about money. And programs that garner a lot of attention and interest help drive the bottom line for conferences.

No matter what’s happening on the field, West Virginia’s presence on social media demonstrates how valuable the program truly is to the Big 12. The Mountaineers are at the top of the mountain when it comes to the combined following of every school who will transition into the new Big 12.

According to data compiled from SkullSparks within the last 7 months, WVU 858,000 followers just for its football program on social media. This is about 30,000 more than next best Colorado, the only other program with more than 700,000. The Buffaloes have around 822,000. Iowa State, Kansas (although the leader for basketball) and Houston rank at the bottom.

Total Followers of Football social media accounts in the NEW Big12 (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, Threads):

WVU – 858K
CU – 822K
TCU – 619K
OkSt – 588K
Utah – 511K
UCF – 510K
BYU – 501K
Cincy – 466K
ASU – 446K
KSU – 400K
Baylor – 398K
TxTech – 393K
UAriz – 333K
IowaSt…

— Jeff Fuller (@jjfuller72) August 8, 2023

Based on the total for West Virginia on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok and the newer platform Threads, WVU can reach more fans with one click than any other program in the conference.

While it’s true social media is not the end all-be all, certainly speaks to the size of the fan base in our digital world. This data also only focuses on the football related accounts and does not factor in the men’s basketball program’s social pull etc.

When you factor in all of WVU athletics, it’s fair to say West Virginia brings with it a stranger digital presence than any of its Big 12 peers as they move into the future of college sports together.

For a related story, WVU football will also own the distinction as the all-time winningest program.

WVU Football to be Winningest Program in New Big 12