Oregon head coach Altman RETIRES

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

Practice! We talking about practice!
Here are the national attendance statistics for actual games. Kentucky led the nation.

2025-26 Top 50 College Basketball Attendance

We have a wrap on the 2025-26 college basketball season, so let’s take a look at the top 50 attendance numbers across the sport.

herosports.com

Yes. Because there are always lots of empty seats at madness.

Have you been a fan for five minutes?

 

[LexingtonThoroughblade]

College sports viewership is hitting record highs, completely disproving the narrative that fans are tuning out due to NIL or the transfer portal.

Here is the condensed breakdown of why college athletics remains a television juggernaut:

• Men's Regular Season Surge: Viewership for the 2025–26 regular season jumped 17% overall across rated networks, with men’s college hoops seeing a 20% spike (averaging 381,000 viewers across 1,100+ games) [sportsbusinessjournal.com].

• March Madness Boom: The 2026 Men's National Championship game averaged 18.3 million viewers—a seven-year high [ncaa.com]. The entire tournament averaged 10.9 million viewers per broadcast, making it the second most-watched March Madness since 1994 [ncaa.com].

• Football Dominance: Premium regular-season matchups routinely rival the NFL, with marquee games drawing up to 14 million viewers.



Why Ratings are Climbing



• The "Reality Show" Effect: Instead of killing interest, the transfer portal and NIL free agency have created year-round player drama, intense revenge storylines, and massive roster curiosity.

• Super-Conferences: Massive conference realignments mean powerhouse schools now face each other regularly, replacing predictable blowout games with high-stakes, marquee TV matchups.

Social media traditionalists may complain, but the data shows they are still glued to the screen.

These reasons aren't why ratings are up at all and it's a joke. The reason is gambling.

 

[Nightwish]

Fans are quickly losing interest. Coaches are leaving. The nba is being dominated by non aau guys because aau mentality is ruining cbb first through fundamentals and now mentality.

- Fans are not quickly losing interest. It's a doomer approach that doesn't hold water. Ratings have risen in recent years and sports fans still exist everywhere. We don't see as many sellouts because you can have your own setup for cheap and prices on everything keep going up. I'm sitting a few feet from a large tv watching Pens hockey. That's more convenient to me than being at a game on a Wed night and not getting home until 11pm or after.

- Some coaches are leaving. And? If you're heart isn't into a new era in athletics, leave so younger coaches can step up, which is exactly what's happened. Sports will never run out of coaches. If Stoops had been more successful, he'd still be here a few more years then he'd likely retire and we'd have gotten a younger, hungrier guy like we have now. You make it sound as if we should be fearful that longtime coaches are retiring. Buddy, we shouldn't have dozens of retirement aged coaches with a death grip on their programs lol.

- NBA fans appear to enjoy the NBA. On this board you'll find a few who'll say the NBA sucks but will also admit they haven't watched it in 25 years. The Playoffs were fun as hell this year.

You're a doomer sometimes. I think it may have been you who kept saying no one watched the SB halftime show anymore and I was like, "eh, check those ratings because they do..." Just because sports has become a bummer for you doesn't mean the rest of the world feels that way too lol.

 

[Beatle Bum]

College football TV viewership through the first four weeks of the 2026 season is averaging 1.7 million to 1.85 million viewers per game across Nielsen-rated networks, representing an 11% decreasecompared to the same stretch in 2025.

Some big games this weekend. We shall see if this is just a lack of big game matchups.

 

[BleedBlue63]

This guy seems a little too old for UK.

 

[ToniTonyToneDelkDelkDelk]

A lot of these head coaches are proving themselves to be giant pathetic babies. When they wer ethe only ones profiting from the cheap labor of the players and thriving off their skills, everything was fine.
Now that the players are compensated, thus leveling out the power dynamic somewhat it's time to retire and hit the golf course.

 

[JASUN74]

This is such a garbage move by coaches that do this trying to insinuate their replacements. Not a fan.

I’d almost guarantee that he was told to resign or get fired. 100%. Can’t lose like he has lately and keep a 5 plus million dollar job. Definitely could be wrong but his recent work hasn’t been good enough.

 

[chroix]

I’d almost guarantee that he was told to resign or get fired. 100%. Can’t lose like he has lately and keep a 5 plus million dollar job. Definitely could be wrong but his recent work hasn’t been good enough.

I just watched his interview and I think you’re right. He seemed really upset and burnt out. Knight probably put the smack down. Wants a chip before he gone and their football program clearly not going to get to that level.

 

[davtay]

I just watched his interview and I think you’re right. He seemed really upset and burnt out. Knight probably put the smack down. Wants a chip before he gone and their football program clearly not going to get to that level.

I think if it was pressure from Knight or the school, they would have done it before now. Knight sure isn't getting a championship with Stubblefield as coach.

 

[Beatle Bum]

Without knowing his reasoning, it seems weird so many are critical.

 

[73CAV]

Not a fan of this retire right before the season nonsense that bennett and now this guy pulled.

Edit as I got Wright confised with Bennett. Wright left n April for retirement.

Actually, Coach Bennett probably did Virginia a huge favor with the timing of his retirement. First, his schemes depended, to a large extent, on continuity and development, and changes to the transfer portal changed that. Also, he wasn't fond of NIL, and was reluctant to use it. His ways didn't work especially well in the way that NCAA men's basketball was evolving so he retired. While his departure did give Coach Sanchez an opportunity, it also gave the AD the opportunity to prepare for the prospect that Sanchez wouldn't succeed. If Coach Bennett had left in the spring, the coaching search would not have benefited from this groundwork, and I don't know if Virginia would have hired Coach Odom. And, everyone in Charlottesville is quite happy about that hire. Now, the Oregon AD has an entire season to explore the available options, evaluate the probabilities of success, and make the "official" coaching search next spring more successful.

 

[preacherfan]

I just posted earlier that cbb has an insanely out of control nil problem that is going to have lasting negative effects on the sport if they don't do something quickly.

Not only is there fan disengagement en masse, its now routine for long time coaches to just abruptly retire as the season starts.

I am curious if we have actually seen an increase in coaches abruptly retiring at the start of a season? Dean Smith retired on October 9, 1997 at the start of the team's preseason practice so it isn't unheard of.

It has been posted that Pearl retired abruptly in 2025 and Bennett in 2024.

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

I am curious if we have actually seen an increase in coaches abruptly retiring at the start of a season? Dean Smith retired on October 9, 1997 at the start of the team's preseason practice so it isn't unheard of.

It speaks for itself that you had to go back to dean smith to remember the last prominent pre nil coach to retire abruptly at the beginning of a season. Also noteworthy less than 10 years later he had pretty significant dementia.

Haven't looked to confirm, but im willing to bet all the recent examples cited were each their programs winningest all time coach.

Basketball nil is out of control and will be the death of the sport unless something is done or donors come to their senses.

 

[RebelCat6]

I see a Nick Saban type exit here!

 

[TheResistance]

KSR Mario said he spoke to Jasper's family and there is NO WAY he comes back to UK this year.

 

[WeWant9]

KSR Mario said he spoke to Jasper's family and there is NO WAY he comes back to UK this year.

I do not believe I am going out on a limb when I think the feeling is mutual on the UK side of things.

 

[Kantucke_rivals]

He may leave Oregon (doubtful, Nike) but it's safe to say, the destination will definitely not be Kentucky.

 

[Smeegs]

KSR Mario said he spoke to Jasper's family and there is NO WAY he comes back to UK this year.

We hardly needed KSR to tell us that. Everybody with common sense already knew he ain’t coming back, and we don’t want him back.

His uncle going scorched Earth on Pope and the BBN on his way out the door merely reinforced the certainty of that.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

So, Jasper could transfer again...

Yeah he’s not coming here lol. Nor should we want him after his uncles nonsense. Maybe if they kept him offline and away from the team.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

He watched Jasper try to dribble and just quit

Then he watched him try to guard someone. Rather retire than try and teach defense to that kid! Hit the weights my dude lol.