The Coolest College Football Teams, Ranked
The College Football season has (very sadly) come to a close. A big shoutout to the Indiana Hoosiers for an epic, odds defying season!
To celebrate, The Action Network has put together a ranking of the Coolest College Football teams.
But let's plunge into how we define "coolness" amongst these football powerhouses. Spoiler: The criteria are about as diverse as the fans themselves!
Methodology in a Nutshell
Our data-driven approach ensures fairness in the rivalry. We collected stats from trusted sources to create the ultimate "Cool Score." Each team was evaluated on revenue (blame those accountants!), Micro Breweries near campuses (perfect for pre-game rituals), city population figures, search volume for tailgating and team interest, current rankings, championships won, and current season win vs. loss records. It’s all about blending Value, Culture, and Performance to score our contenders.
Calculation of the 'Cool Score'
Factors were assigned weights like a pro-diet plan: 30% Value, 30% Culture, and 40% Performance, balanced with the grace of a perfect spiral pass.
Scores were standardized and weighted, with higher scores winning bragging rights.
Texas Longhorns — America’s Coolest College Football Team
Cool Score: 66
The Texas Longhorns take the top spot with a Cool Score of 66, claiming the title of America’s coolest college football team for the second year in a row.
Based in Austin, a city of 974,447, Texas pairs a massive fan base with a thriving scene of 49 microbreweries. Interest runs deep, with 550,000 team-related searches and 8,100 tailgating searches fueling game-day culture.
On the field, the Longhorns bring the credentials: four national championships, a strong win–loss score of 7, 35 players sent to the NFL, and $239 million in revenue. Pretty cool, huh?
Teams Ranked 2–10
Alabama Crimson Tide (2nd):
Alabama got a lot cooler this year, with the Crimson Tide rising from #4 to #2. Charging in with a Cool Score of 62, Alabama’s dominance is rooted in history and hardware. Tuscaloosa backs the Tide with 16 national championships, 56 NFL players, and $214 million in revenue, alongside 27,100 team searches and steady tailgate interest.
Ohio State Buckeyes (3rd):
The Ohio Buckeyes slid to 3rd place, but still pretty neat. Ohio State rules Columbus, a city of 913,175. The Buckeyes pair eight championships and 51 players gone pro with $251 million in revenue, 74,000 fan searches, 1,600 tailgating searches, and 33 nearby breweries.
Georgia Bulldogs (4th):
Georgia fans will be pleased to see the Bulldogs jumped two spots in the ranking this year to #4. Georgia posts a Cool Score of 55, powered by one of the loudest fanbases in the sport. Athens delivers 301,000 team searches, three championships, a perfect win–loss score of 10, and 54 NFL players, with five local breweries fueling game day.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5th):
Earning a Cool Score of 54, Notre Dame blends legacy with consistency. The Irish boast 11 championships, 44 NFL alumni, $224 million in revenue, and 14,800 fan searches, keeping South Bend firmly on the college football map. While 5th place is a respectable rank, the Fighting Irish were #3 last year, showing a decline in coolness.
Michigan Wolverines (6th):
Michigan lands at 53, driven by tradition in Ann Arbor. With 10 championships, 49 players sent to the NFL, $210 million in revenue, and 60,500 searches, the Wolverines remain one of the sport’s most recognizable brands. The Wolverines are another team on the coolness come up; The team ranked #8 last year but saw a nice jump to #6. That's pretty cool.
USC Trojans (7th):
In 7th place are the Trojans, who in 2025 came in #5. USC scores 49, thriving in Los Angeles’ population of nearly 3.8 million. The Trojans pair 25 microbreweries, 27,100 fan searches, $212 million in revenue, and a solid win–loss score of 5 in one of college football’s biggest markets.
Texas A&M Aggies (8th):
With a Cool Score of 45, Texas A&M’s presence in College Station is fueled by loyalty. The Aggies post 8,100 tailgating searches, $193 million in revenue, a win–loss score of 9, and a proud championship history. Aggies can celebrate their season and the fact that they rose 2 spots in the coolness ranking.
Miami Hurricanes (9th):
Let's face it, the Miami Hurricanes are a cool team that plays in a cool city. However, they might want to keep an eye on their overall coolness; The team was #7 in 2025 and has fallen to #9. Fan energy helped keep the city in the top 10. The team produces 368,000 team searches, a strong win–loss score of 11, 26 NFL players, and $160 million in revenue.
Oklahoma Sooners (10th):
The Sooners broke into #10, a 9 spot jump, one of the biggest bumps in the whole list. Norman supports the Sooners with seven championships, 33 players gone pro, $177 million in revenue, and 49,500 fan searches.
Teams Ranked 11–20
These programs may fall just outside the top tier, but they remain major players in college football culture:
- Florida Gators (11th) — Cool Score: 42
- Oregon Ducks (12th) — Cool Score: 42
- LSU Tigers (13th) — Cool Score: 39
- Penn State Nittany Lions (14th) — Cool Score: 38
- TCU Horned Frogs (15th) — Cool Score: 38
- Houston Cougars (16th) — Cool Score: 37
- Minnesota Golden Gophers (17th) — Cool Score: 37
- San Diego State Aztecs (18th) — Cool Score: 36
- Washington Huskies (19th) — Cool Score: 36
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (20th) — Cool Score: 35
Houston (16th) , San Diego State (18th), Washington (19th), and Texas Tech (20th) all made the top 20 for the first time. The Indiana Hoosiers barely missed the top 20, coming in at 21. While they might not seem as cool as winning a national championship win, it is a 12 spot bump from last year. Hoosiers might be on the coolness come up.
Four former Top-20 programs — Clemson, Tennessee, Illinois, and SMU — fell off the top 20 entirely.
In the end, college football coolness isn’t just about wins and losses. It’s about loyalty, atmosphere, tradition, and the experience that surrounds every Saturday. Whether it’s a packed SEC tailgate, a Big Ten snow game, or a late-night Pac-12 showdown, these programs define what makes the sport special.
This analysis was created to entertain and inform college football bettors and fans, who may also be interested in exploring our bet365 promo code and Fanatics Sportsbook promo pages.
Methodology
You can find the full dataset here.
Data Collection
Our analysis for ranking the coolest college football teams involved collecting data from several sources to ensure a comprehensive evaluation. Below are the data points we used and their respective sources:
Revenue:
SportsData USA Today
NBC DFW
Sportico
Micro Breweries (within five miles of the city center):
BreweryDB
Population of City/Town:
Public Open Data Soft
Search Volume for 'Tailgating' (average over 12 months):
Google Keyword Planner
Search Volume for Football Team (average over 12 months):
Google Keyword Planner
Championships (*anything the NCAA recognized as a Championship):
ESPN
Win vs Loss Record:
ESPN
Calculation of 'Cool Score'
Each college football team was evaluated based on three main categories: Value, Culture, and Performance. Each category includes specific factors that contribute to the overall "Cool Score". The factors and their corresponding weights are listed below:
Value (30% Total Weight)
Players that have gone pro (Currently Active NFL Players): 15%
Revenue: 15%
Culture (30% Total Weight)
Micro Breweries (within 5 miles of city centre): 5%
Population of City: 5%
Tailgating: 10%
Fanbase Dedication (Search Volume for Team): 10%
Performance (40% Total Weight)
Championships: 20%
Win vs Loss Ratio: 20%
Scoring Process
Standardization: Each data point was standardized to ensure comparability across teams. This was done using z-scores to normalize the values.
Weighting: Each standardized score was multiplied by its respective weight to reflect the importance of the factor in the overall "Cool Score".
Aggregation: The weighted scores for each factor were summed to produce a final "Cool Score" for each team.
Ranking: Teams were ranked based on their "Cool Score", with higher scores indicating a higher ranking.
