With everyone talking about how small West Virginia's footprint is, I find this to be an interesting stat. WVU was 16th in merchandise sales last season. Among the teams behind them were Texas A&M, Florida State, Miami, and UCLA.
where did you find this hat? i'd like to see the list. I see more Cal gear in LA than UCLA gear. it's kind of sad. Shocked A&M would be behind them though.
I'm apparently very ignorant when it comes to West Virginia. I thought I had a good feel for this sort of thing, but I guess not. Where are all these West Virginia fans at? The whole state has a population of less than 2 million, and lord knows that there are pockets of folks there that are not very sport or university-inclined. Are a lot of West Virginia fans in Pittsburgh?
The stat I posted is in the Charleston paper today. Not sure where the full list would be posted. I'm guessing a search for something along the lines of "collegiate licensed merchandise sales" might bear fruit. Having been around West Virginia fans a bit, it doesn't surprise me. Everyone at a game seems to have some sort of school gear.
They are all over the Northeast actually, but especially in Western PA, Maryland, Washington DC, southeastern OH. I have lived in a few different cities and each place I have been has had a strong Mountaineer Club. They are a loyal bunch.
There are a fair number in Pittsburgh. The other variable is the passion of Mountaineer fans. Whereas a UCLA fan might buy one school sweatshirt, a WVU fan is going to have a closet full of blue and gold gear.
Prolly so. I used to love the Pitt/WVU/Penn St rivalry games. I always thought a BLC (Black Lung Conference) should have been started with those 3 and maybe toss in Va Tech, Marshall and maybe UK. Was a minor WVU fan in the days of Ben Talley, Jeff Hostetler and of course Major Harris
found it: The top 25: 1. Texas, 2. Alabama, 3. Florida, 4. LSU, 5. North Carolina, 6. Georgia, 7. Michigan, 8. Kentucky, 9. Penn State, 10. Oklahoma, 11. Notre Dame, 12. Tennessee, 13. West Virginia, 14. Nebraska, 15. Auburn, 16. Wisconsin, 17. Kansas, 18. Missouri, 19. Florida State, 20. Arkansas, 21. Texas A&M, 22. Illinois, 23. South Carolina, 24. Texas Tech, 25. Clemson. http://content.usatoday.com/communi...ma-are-top-two-schools-in-merchandise-sales/1
Plus, if you live in West Virginia you'll need clothes for a 90-degree September game, a 40-degree October game, and 10-degree November game.
This seems to be more up to date. I'm pretty shocked fucla is above cal, but for some reason foreigners love buying ucla gear. Top-75 Universities (1.) The University of Texas at Austin (2.) The University of Alabama (3.) University of Florida (4.) The University of Michigan (5.) University of Georgia (6.) University of North Carolina (7.) University of Notre Dame (8.) Louisiana State University (9.) The Pennsylvania State University (10.) University of Tennessee (11.) University of Nebraska (12.) University of Kentucky (13.) The University of Oklahoma (14.) Auburn University (15.) West Virginia University (16.) University of Wisconsin (17.) University of South Carolina (18.) University of Arkansas (19.) University of Missouri (20.) The University of Kansas (21.) Texas A&M University (22.) Florida State University (23.) University of Illinois (24.) Clemson University (25.) Texas Tech University (26.) University of California Los Angeles (27.) University of Washington (28.) University of Miami (29.) Oklahoma State University (30.) Duke University (31.) Purdue University (32.) University of Minnesota (33.) University of Louisville (34.) Oregon State University (35.) University of California Berkeley (36.) University of Mississippi (37.) The University of Arizona (38.) Washington State University (39.) Georgia Institute of Technology (40.) University of Pittsburgh (41.) Boise State University (42.) Syracuse University (43.) University of Maryland (44.) The University of Virginia (45.) University of Utah (46.) University of Cincinnati (47.) Stanford University (48.) University of Colorado (49.) Texas Christian University (50.) Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (51.) Brigham Young University (52.) Boston College (53.) University of South Florida (54.) University of Connecticut (55.) East Carolina University (56.) The University of Montana (57.) University of Central Florida (58.) United States Military Academy (59.) The University of New Mexico (60.) The University of Wyoming (61.) Colorado State University (62.) Fresno State University (63.) The University of Memphis (64.) Vanderbilt University (65.) Marshall University (66.) Northwestern University (67.) Villanova University (68.) Georgetown University (69.) University of Nevada (70.) Gonzaga University (71.) University of Delaware (72.) Montana State University (73.) United States Air Force Academy (74.) Marquette University (75.) Temple University
Well, I'm still convinced now that WVU would carry some weight after all. That'd be a good balancing addition to go along with aTm. I'm of the mindset that the SEC might as well race out to 16 teams if they add a 13th. Give me Missouri and either Maryland or NC State, and I will be satisfied.