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When it comes to following football in the US, there’s one huge extracurricular that fans love: fantasy leagues. From CBS Sports to informal office pools, there’s always a new fantasy league to jump into. Since the roll out of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), these types of competitions have changed to become more accessible.
A traditional fantasy league runs concurrently with the actual NFL. Results are updated week by week as the playoffs approach. A DFS competition, like those on offer with a DraftKings promo code, shortens this format to a single-day or single-tournament event. With easier ways to get involved, interest in fantasy football has never been higher.
At least, for the NFL. Compared to the big leagues, NCAAF fantasy betting hasn’t taken off. Much of this can be chalked up to the NCAA’s conservative approach to betting. Back in 1992, it was the NCAA that led the charge to lay a sports betting ban. Since that was lifted in 2018 by the Supreme Court, fantasy betting and college football have started to intersect more often.
Still, for diehard fantasy football fans, there’s a noticeable lag in college fantasy football opportunities. Why is that? And will it ever change? Keep reading for a few of the biggest hurdles in college fantasy football.
The NFL is the US’s most lucrative league… even if it only has 32 teams. The NCAAF is also a money-making giant (though its official mission is to support college athletics), but it’s top division includes 130 teams. Sure, they aren’t all competitive, but for a fantasy leaguer who wants to dive into a full-on league, they’ll need to somehow manage over a thousand players before setting their lineup.
For the most part, college fantasy football fans stick to a single conference. This makes the player pool a lot more manageable, though single-conference leagues may only involve six to nine participants. Keep in mind that the NCAAF’s bowl schedule also throws a delightful wrench into things for those sticking to one conference.
Fantasy leagues and football go together perfectly—even if fantasy leagues were originally developed with the MLB in mind. In fact, the NFL works closely with major fantasy league groups in order to help curate reports. The NFL also manages its own fantasy leagues, many of which include live scoring reports and instant video highlights.
In other words, the NFL is invested in the popularity of and participation with fantasy football leagues from a fan perspective. The league offers its own NFL Fantasy app, while it also creates specific reports on major events (like the NFL Draft) that cater to fantasy league players.
The NCAA, as mentioned above, has been hot and cold in terms of licensing. For example, the league only recently signed an expanded Name Image License (NIL) agreement that allows its players to benefit from being included in video games and sponsorship ventures. The idea that players would also pen deals with fantasy groups is still too extreme of a departure from the NCAA’s previous approach to college football as entertainment.
All of the NFL reporting above has one key role in the fantasy league landscape: to help players craft the perfect lineup. With only 32 teams to report on, NFL fantasy league coverage is a lot more straightforward than FBS topics—and not all football fans want to wade through dozens of reports on potential stars. Many would rather wait and see who sinks and swims in the major leagues.
The degree of variance faced by college football fantasy leaguers is simply too great. Once again, it’s also worthwhile to point back to the NCAA’s schedule. It’s difficult to structure a fantasy league around a postseason that doesn’t include a head-to-head format—and harder to know when to schedule playoffs. For most NCAAF fantasy fans, playoffs start in Week 13. However, as college fantasy football sees more attention in the coming years, these types of questions could be hammered out.