Des Moines/Ames ranks third nationally for college basketball fandom, according to Nielsen’s latest report released on November 2. The TV ratings company evaluated fan engagement across seven categories from January 2025 through May 2026, including apparel purchases, live-event attendance, social media engagement, radio listening, streaming and linear TV viewership, and overall interest.
Only Lexington and Louisville, both in Kentucky, ranked higher than the Iowa market, which covers fans of Iowa State and the University of Iowa. Nielsen singled out Des Moines/Ames for leading in digital media, saying it “tops social media, streaming, and radio engagement.” The company added that connected TV and digital audio campaigns work well to reach these fans early in their decision-making process.
This ranking follows a season of rising national interest in college basketball. Nielsen reported a 20% increase in men’s college basketball viewership and a 19% rise for women’s college basketball during the 2025-26 season. The heightened attention on Iowa’s programs is consistent with last season’s data, which showed Iowa and Iowa State among the most-watched women’s basketball teams nationwide based on linear TV and social media metrics.
The Des Moines/Ames market’s third-place finish reflects strong local enthusiasm for college basketball amid midsized markets with long-standing sports traditions. The top 10 markets, according to Nielsen, include Raleigh/Durham, Indianapolis, Birmingham, Omaha, Knoxville, Kansas City, and Wichita/Hutchinson, alongside the Kentucky and Iowa markets. These rankings tend to favour regions in the Midwest and Southeast, where fan engagement tends to outpace larger metropolitan areas.
In September, Nielsen also released its College Football Fandom Index, where Iowans ranked second nationally, showing consistent interest across college sports.
Iowa and Iowa State began their 2026-27 college basketball seasons during the week of November 1, with fans already demonstrating significant enthusiasm. The report did not include specific figures on ticket sales or apparel purchases for this season but suggested ongoing strong engagement across multiple platforms.
Cooper Worth, a reporter for the Des Moines Register who covered the Nielsen report, can be reached at cworth@gannett.com or followed on X @CooperAWorth.
According to Yahoo Sports.
