Aubrey’s Analysis

With this new era of sports we’re entering, the voice of a fan is starting to hold some power. When you look at how college and professional sports are being run, you begin to see that they truly are a business.

The NCAA allows college athletes to be paid through NIL deals, which are like those of an NFL, NBA or MLB player signing a contract with a team. That money not only comes from sponsorships and other businesses but from the revenue from fans as well.

Since we are the consumers of their supply, they in some way have to meet our demand.

I see this more in college than I do professional sports. Take Florida State, for example. The Seminole fan base has been in an uproar about the performance of head coach Mike Norvell. In his seven years at FSU, Norvell holds an overall record of 39-36 and is off to a 1-2 start in 2026.

Seminole fans take pride in that football program and expect more of it. That same reason is why they’re calling for Norvell to be removed from the position. You can make the same comparison to Brian Kelly at LSU last season and Sam Pittman at Arkansas.

Fans want to see wins, and because they fund a portion of what goes into a university’s athletic program, their voices matter. That’s why LSU went out and spent $90 million to poach a coach while still having to pay $54 million to the previous one.

Now, although fans’ opinions do matter in this situation, they seldom get listened to. FSU wants Norvell gone. Instead, it fired Athletic Director Michael Alford.

Was this the right decision? Only time will tell.

Arkansas fans wanted a seasoned, high-caliber coach after Pittman. Instead, they hired Ryan Silverfield out of Memphis, who’s yet to prove he can compete in the SEC. Granted, he’s only in his first year, but this has been an ongoing issue in the state of Arkansas.

Then you look at Florida and Kentucky. These two programs listened to their fan bases. Fan bases that were hungry and ready to get back on track and return to a competitive level in the sport of football.

Kentucky went out and grabbed offensive genius Will Stein from Oregon, and Florida got Jon Sumrall from Tulane, which made a trip to the playoffs last season. Kentucky then took down Texas A&M at College Station, and Florida is the favorite over Ole Miss even though the Gators are ranked lower in the AP poll.

Maybe the fans do know what they’re talking about? Just a thought.

Anyway, I’ll step off my soapbox as a disgruntled fan for now, but I think this is something worth thinking about. Who knows, there may even be a whole ESPN or SportsCenter story about the rise in fan activity in college athletics decision-making.

Until then, enjoy your team’s wins or complain long enough that a change is made.