College sports has more than 190 million fans, split about 60-40 between male and female, with 31 million of them earning at least $100,000 per year and 27 million in the sweet marketing demo ages of 18-24, according to leading collegiate sports marketing and licensing firm .

All told, “The fans of college sports comprise the largest, wealthiest, most diverse, and best educated base audience in all of sports,” reports IMG College, which represents the NCAA, its 89 championships and more than 200 of the nation’s top universities.

Targeting that massive a base, marketers from a bevy of categories are spending more time and money than ever at schools nationwide supporting sports, seeking to attract fans, athletes and consumers.

So much so that sponsorship spending on college athletics is expected to total a record $1.24 billion in the 2017-2018 season, a 4.5% increase over 2017.

By comparison, overall sponsor spend in 2018 is projected to rise 4.5% while overall sports sponsor spend in 2018 is expected to rise 4.9% versus the prior year.

Insurance is the most active category sponsoring college athletics, followed by Automotive, Banks, Retail and QSR.

State Farm is the most active sponsor overall in the NCAA — ahead of Nissan, Nike, Coca-Cola and AT&T — as well as with most individual conferences, according to research and consulting firm ESP Properties, Chicago.

College sponsor spend in 2014-15 was $1.1 billion, $1.15 billion in 2015-16, $1.18 billion in 2016-17.

ESP Properties did not indicate how much State Farm or other marketers spent.

College athletics sponsorship spending covered by ESP Properties includes NCAA Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners, College Bowl Game title sponsors and co-sponsors, College Football Playoff sponsors, Power Five Conference school sponsors and non-Power Five conference school sponsors.

The figures do not include national TV ad spend, which adds billions more to the total pot.

Last year, for example, companies spent a record $1.28 billion on national TV ad spend during March Madness, a figure that is expected to rise during the current NCAA Div. I Basketball Tournament, according to Kantar Media, NY.

“With a high passionate fan base and a demographic profile that spans young to old, college sports remains a desirable marketing platform for those already in the sport as well as new companies looking to make their mark on the college scene,” said William Chipps, senior content editor for the ESP Sponsorship Report.

Where does the money go? At a time when the debate over whether or not to pay college athletes has risen to a new crescendo, the NCAA said that “NCAA schools distribute more than $3.3 billion in athletics scholarships each year.”

The NCAA also said that 80% of college athletes are earning degrees, “The highest rate ever.”

State Farm is the most active sponsor in college sports, with 72% of NCAA properties with a sponsor in the insurance category reporting an alliance with State Farm.

By conference, 73% of ACC properties with a sponsor in the insurance category report an alliance with State Farm, 82% in the Big 12 Conference, 80% in the Big 10, 60% in the SEC and 77% in the Pac-12, according to ESP Properties 2017-18 College Sponsorship Spend Report.

Among all NCAA schools and conferences, the most active brands behind State Farm are Nissan (63% of NCAA properties with a sponsor in the automotive category reporting an alliance with Nissan), Nike (61%), Coca-Cola (42%), AT&T (41%), UPS (34%), Geico (34%), Gatorade (32%), StubHub (25%), Toyota (21%), Koch Industries (21%), Ford (21%), Pepsi (20%), Delta (20%) and Muscle Milk (20%).

As part of the NCAA Men’s Final Four in San Antonio, the Music Festival is sponsored by AT&T, Coca-Cola and Capital One, with Capital One also presenting sponsor for the Final Four Fan Fest presented by Capital One (in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center).

Behind State Farm in the ACC, the Top Five also included Coca-Cola (60% of ACC properties with a sponsor in the soft drink category reporting an alliance with Coca-Cola), Nike (60%), Geico (53%) and Gatorade (47%).

Behind State Farm in the Big 12, the Top Five also included Nike (73%), Geico (64%), Koch Industries (64%) and AT&T (55%).

Along with State Farm in the Big 10, the Top Five also included Libman (67%), UPS (60%), Nike (60%) and Meijer (53%).

In the Pac-12, the most active brand is AT&T, with 92% of Pac-12 properties with a sponsor in the telecom category reporting an alliance with AT&T. Second was State Farm, followed by Nike (72%), Muscle Milk (54%) and Nissan (54%).

In the SEC, co-leaders State Farm and Coca-Cola (60%) were followed by Zaxby’s, Regions Bank and Nissan (40-% each).

As the most active category, insurance companies are 6.2 times more likely to sponsor college sports than the average category.

Top categories behind Insurance are Automotive (4.8 times more likely to sponsor college sports than the average category), Banks (4.3), Retail (3.8), QSR (3.7), Sports Apparel (3.4), Telecom (3), Soft Drinks (2.6), Medical (2.6), Ticketing (1.6), Sports Drinks (1.3), Fuel (1.3), Logistics (1.2) and Airlines (1.1).

NCAA Corporate Champions are AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola.

NCAA Corporate Partners include Buffalo Wild Wings, Buick, Enterprise, Google Cloud, Infinity, Intel, Lowe’s, Marriott, Nabisco, Northwestern Mutual, Pizza Hut, Reese’s, Unilever and Wendy’s.

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