All eyes on them: why is the NCAA far more popular than U SPORTS?
By Marvellous Chukwukelu, February 16 2025—
On Apr. 7, 2024, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I women’s basketball championship game for the 2023–24 season was played between the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and the University of Iowa’s Hawkeyes. The historic game, which was the grand finale of an enthralling storyline that had spanned two years, drew in a historic 18.7 million viewers and became the first time in which the women’s final had drawn in a larger live audience than the male equivalent. Yet, even with this historic achievement, that game—which ended in favour of the Gamecocks—was not even close to being the most-viewed NCAA game for the 2023–24 season.
In contrast, the 2023–24 U SPORTS season drew about one million streams across all sports—a vast difference. So, why is the NCAA so much more popular than U SPORTS?
One of the first reasons that come to mind is size. After all, the NCAA’s 1100 member schools significantly dwarfs U SPORTS’ 58. However, that disparity—as well as the population difference between the US and Canada—fails to explain how a single game being played at theoretically the same level of talent south of the border draws in 17 times the viewership that an entire season of Canadian sports does.
A better answer presents itself when we examine how university sports tie into the larger professional sporting sphere across North America.
The National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the National Basketball Association (NBA) are the most popular sporting leagues in America. In Canada, it is, unsurprisingly, the NHL. These four leagues, which make up a significant chunk of sports viewing in North America, all utilize a draft system to recruit and distribute new talent within their leagues and looking at the first three, you can recognize the NCAA’s influence. A staggering 99.2 per cent of players drafted by NFL teams in 2024 came from NCAA schools with the only exceptions being University of Guelph Gryphons alumni and Toronto Argonauts’ cornerback, Qwan’tez Stiggers and former rugby union player, Travis Clayton. The NBA had comparable numbers with 74.2 per cent of drafted athletes coming from the NCAA in their 2024 draft. On the other hand, over 90 per cent of drafted players in the 2024 NHL draft come from professional and junior hockey leagues around the world.
These numbers tell a straightforward story. U SPORTS is simply not a stepping stone to the major professional sporting leagues that have a significant presence in Canada which is why it struggles. The major attraction of the NCAA is not just the rivalries and storylines but the significant potential that these stories that fans are fervently following will bleed into the professional sporting leagues when these athletes start competing at that level. That draw is simply not there when it comes to U SPORTS.
U SPORTS is trying hard to mitigate this and attract young talent—and with that, the stories and viewers—into the Canadian university system but they continue to face seemingly insurmountable challenges from all sides. For example, the NCAA recently started to allow Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players to compete within the NCAA system, a decision that is sure to deal a heavy blow to how Canadian University hockey programs recruit.
The media also plays a key part in the hurdles that Canadian university sports face. In 2013, U SPORTS, then known as Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS), struck a six-year deal with Sportsnet granting the broadcaster multi-platform rights to the games played under the umbrella of the CIS. This deal marked the first time that Canadian university sports received broad spectrum coverage as opposed to previous times where the media predominantly covered the Mitchell Bowl, the Uteck Bowl, and the Vanier Cup. Two years after this deal lapsed, U SPORTS made a comeback from its pandemic-induced shutdown and signed a new broadcasting deal with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to stream U SPORTS national championship games. That contract is set to expire at the current 2024–25 season. Yet, despite record viewership in the 2023–24 season, there has been no news of an extension.
And then we have to face the reality that Canadian universities simply do not have the fanatical ‘college spirit’ that is rife in American colleges.
We also have to talk about the financial incentive. NCAA programs, especially division I schools are incredibly well funded. The high-level, multi-million dollar facilities they boast are incredibly attractive to players who play to make it into professional leagues. Unfortunately, U SPORTS teams simply do not have the funding to compete which means that Canada often loses most of their best talent to collegiate programs down south. Also, athletic scholarships within the NCAA are allowed to cover tuition, supplementary fees, food, board and every other academic-related expense—hence the common colloquialism of calling it a full-ride. On the other hand, a U SPORTS scholarship cannot exceed the amount for tuition and mandatory supplementary fees. This reduced financial burden is also a strong motivating factor that draws talented Canadian athletes down south.
U SPORTS is thriving though. The annual Crowchild Classic, which saw the Dinos enjoy a sweeping victory, was watched by a record breaking 13,139 fans. Also, online U SPORTS viewership—which is already at its peak—is expected to continue its rise as more Canadians tune in each year. The organization still has work to do especially with how they recruit and provide support for their athletes but they are definitely on the right path.