All rivalries aren't created equal — national stakes, all-time greats, legendary moments, fanbases measuring in the millions. Only a handful of college football rivalries can boast of this kind of drama. But what they all have is emotion, specifically a generous amount of sports hate for the team on the other side.
Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland and the Cortaca Jug will never be confused for Ohio State vs. Michigan. But Bombers hate Red Dragons with the same intensity as Buckeyes hate Wolverines. Sort of.
Want more rivalries? Explore FanSided’s Rivalry Week Hub, our interactive deep dive into the traditions, history and moments that define college football’s fiercest matchups.
How in the world do you measure sports hate?
Thanks to Know Rivalry, a cross-platform academic research into the nature and intensity of sports fandom, we can actually quantify which college football fans are the biggest haters. They surveyed more than 30,000 fans and measured not just how much they hate their rivals, but how that sports hate actually shows up. Know Rivalry breaks it into three categories, each scored on a 1–7 scale:
- Prejudice: Negative perceptions of rival fans. Measured with statements like, "A(n) [Rival] fan’s character is more questionable than a typical fan’s character.”
- Discrimination: Unwillingness to associate with rival fans. Measured with statements like,“I would be less likely to marry a [rival] fan than a typical fan.” and, “As a boss, I would be less likely to hire a [rival] fan than a typical fan.”
- Schadenfreude: Joy in rival misery.
What the data reveals about college football rivalries
Navy vs. Army is one of the most intense rivalries in college sports, but Navy fans actually hold Army fans in relatively high regard. Navy fans had a 1.8 score out of 7 from prejudice against Army fans, 1.9 for discrimination and 2.0 for schadenfreude. When the two teams play, Navy fans care a lot about winning, but otherwise they don't seem to spend much time thinking about their Army rivals at all.
If you add those three scores together, you only get a total of 5.7 out of at a possible 21, which was actually the lowest "Hateration" score of the 127 FBS teams for which Know Rivalry had data. I calculated the Hateration score for the other 126 teams, averaging the scores in each category for any team with multiple rivalries. So what did the data reveal? Here are the 10 fanbases that landed highest on my Hateration scale.
10. Kansas Jayhawks
Hateration score: 12.8
The Jayhawks have just two key rivals — in-state enemies Kansas State, and neighboring Missouri — and rank relatively high across the board in prejudice, discrimination and schadenfreude. In all three categories, Missouri is the primary target of loathing, and they might rank much higher on this list if not for their relatively mild feelings toward K-State dragging them down.
7 (tie). Middle Tennessee
Hateration score: 12.9
The Blue Raiders have had a rough go of it lately, winning just eight football games over the past three seasons. But the passion of their fans is still strong, and their hate is directed primarily at Western Kentucky and Vanderbilt, even though Memphis and Tennessee ranked as rivals also. Their fans had the third-highest schadenfreude score of any school in the top-10. And while Western Kentucky is usually listed as their chief rival, Vanderbilt was the school that drew the highest prejudice and schadenfreude scores from their fans.
7 (tie). Georgia Southern
Hateration score: 12.9
Georgia Southern counts both Georgia State and Appalachian State as rivals, but it's the Mountaineers of Appalachian State who draw the strongest feelings. They've played 40 times going back to 1993, and Georgia Southern is behind on the record 18-21-1.
7 (tie). Missouri
Hateration score: 12.9
Hey, look! One more thing that Missouri fans do better than Kansas fans! Tigers fans scored on five rivals — Kansas, but also Arkansas, South Carolina, Nebraska and Tennessee — but their scores were extremely high across categories and rivals. Their prejudice and schadenfreude scores were highest for Kansas, but the poor Gamecocks were their biggest targets for discrimination.
6. Central Michigan
Hateration score: 13.1
For fans of the Central Michigan Chippewas, football is about one thing: beating those hated downstate rivals at Western Michigan. It's understandable that Central fans would be feeling the heat. The two schools have played 96 times going back to 1907, and Western Michigan has the edge in all-time record (54-40-2), longest win-streak (13 games from 1928 to 1944) and biggest victory (54-0 in 1930). Western already won this year's matchup 24-21, and Central fans will need the warmth of their sports hatred to keep them warm through the rest of this long Michigan winter.
5. Minnesota
Hateration score: 13.2
Fans of the Golden Gophers have their ire pointed at two historic Big Ten rivals: Wisconsin and Iowa. At 5.5, they had one of the highest average prejudice scores of any fanbase, and you can understand when you consider how they've been tormented. The last time Minnesota beat both rivals in the same season was 1984, and since then they're a combined 26-56 against Iowa and Wisconsin. Woof.
4. Arkansas State
Hateration score: 13.3
Arkansas State is a school of many rivals, registering scores for Memphis, Louisiana-Lafayette, Appalachian State, Arkansas and Louisiana Tech. It's remarkable that they still rank this high, considering how much they're spreading their sports hate around, but their enmity for Louisiana Tech carried them. If we considered just their scores for that school, instead of averaging them among all their rivals, they'd have the highest prejudice score any school and their overall Hateration score would come out at 15.9, putting them in the top spot.
2 (tie). UCF
Hateration score: 13.7
UCF is tied for the second-highest Hateration score, but their enmity is all pointed at one rival: the South Florida Bulls. Known as the War of I-4, this is a relatively new feud, with the two teams having met for the first time in 2005 and having only played 14 times since. South Florida won the first four matchups, but UCF has won 8 of the last 10, including the past six in a row.
2 (tie). West Virginia
Hateration score: 13.7
The Backyard Brawl — the rivalry between West Virginia and Pitt, which stretches all the way back to 1895 — is one of the most storied in all of college football. But it's not the only reason Mountaineers fans rank among the biggest haters in college football. Their prejudice scores were actually higher for Penn State, Maryland and Virginia Tech than they were for Pitt, and they had the second-highest schadenfreude score of any school, with the Hokies scoring almost as high as Pitt.
Basically, they don't need a century-old rivalry to fuel their hate fire.
1. Buffalo
Hateration score: 15.2
There is a pipeline of enmity running through Western New York, just a two-hour drive along I-90 from Buffalo to Syracuse. Fans of the Buffalo Bulls, who play in the Mid-American Conference, have nothing but scorn for the Orange, who play in the ACC. This rivalry is clearly rooted in geographic proximity, as they've only played three times, with Syracuse winning all three matchups. Despite that thin history, Buffalo fans had the highest average score of any school in prejudice and schadenfreude, and tied for the highest in discrimination.
They may not have a national championship (or a Super Bowl, or a Stanley Cup), but Buffalo fans can revel in being the biggest haters in college football.