{"id":599017,"date":"2026-02-18T16:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/599017\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T16:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:25:13","slug":"ranking-the-top-college-sports-influencers-brands-creators-on-x-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/599017\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the top college sports influencers, brands, creators on X for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

As college sports sees a rise in popularity<\/a>, more prominent voices are joining the space. On3 is breaking down the top influencers, brands and creators on X from 2025.<\/p>\n

While football leads the charge, specifically from TV ratings standpoint, college athletics as a whole is on the rise. There\u2019s also an overlap at this point in the calendar. Men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball are entering their final stretches before the NCAA Tournament, while baseball and softball are both now underway.<\/p>\n

As a result, there\u2019s plenty for fans to discuss. Here are the top influencers, brands and creators leading that charge on X, based on total impressions in 2025, according to data from Socialpruf<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Affiliation: Barstool Sports, FOX Big Noon Kickoff<\/strong>
Impressions: 4.51 billion<\/strong>
Average per post: 1.01M<\/strong> <\/p>\n

With 4.51 billion impressions on X, Dave Portnoy led college sports in 2025. The president of Barstool Sports, he also joined FOX\u2019s Big Noon Kickoff last college football season.<\/p>\n

Affiliation: Barstool Sports<\/strong>
Impressions: 3.72 billion<\/strong>
Average per post:<\/strong> 332k<\/strong><\/p>\n

One half of Pardon My Take, Dan \u201cBig Cat\u201d Katz generated 3.72 billion impressions on X in 2025. Along with his work on PMT, he also contributed to Big Noon Kickoff.<\/p>\n

Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow)<\/p>\n

Affiliation: Pat McAfee Show, ESPN College GameDay<\/strong>
Impressions: 3.4 billion<\/strong>
Average per post: 292k<\/strong><\/p>\n

With 3.4 billion impressions on X, Pat McAfee ranked third among college sports influencers, brands and creators in 2025. He just completed his third season on ESPN\u2019s College GameDay and his daily show aired its second full year on ESPN\u2019s airwaves, as well.<\/p>\n

On3 (@On3)<\/p>\n

Impressions: 2.36 billion<\/strong>
Average per post: 1.06M<\/strong><\/p>\n

On3, the leading sports media and technology company delivering trusted coverage and connectivity across youth, high school, college sports, and NIL, generated 2.36 billion impressions on X in 2025. That\u2019s the most among college sports brands.<\/p>\n

Clay Travis (@ClayTravis)<\/p>\n

Affiliation: Outkick<\/strong>
Impressions: 1.65 billion<\/strong>
Average per post: 249k<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clay Travis, founder of Outkick, brought 1.65 billion impressions on X in 2025. He also hosts Outkick: The Show, where he\u2019s active in the college sports discussion.<\/p>\n

Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein)<\/p>\n

Affiliation: CBS Sports<\/strong>
Impressions: 1.08 billion<\/strong>
Average per post: 94.8k<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the prominent college basketball insiders, Jon Rothstein topped 1 billion impressions on X in 2025. Known for his trademark catchphrases, the CBS Sports reporter has developed a strong following in the space.<\/p>\n

Affiliation: Barstool Sports<\/strong>
Impressions: 1.02 billion<\/strong>
Average per post: 297k<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other half of Pardon My Take, Eric \u201cPFT Commenter\u201d Sollenberger was also in the Top 10 college sports influencers, brands and creators on X in 2025. He generated 1.02 billion impressions on X while starring on PMT alongside Dan \u201cBig Cat\u201d Katz.<\/p>\n

Affiliation: FOX Sports<\/strong>
Impressions: 953 million<\/strong>
Average per post: 227k<\/strong><\/p>\n

FOX Sports\u2019 College Football X account generated 953 million impressions on X in 2025, which ranked in the Top 10 among brands, creators and influencers. The network posts highlights, as well as clips from interviews and Big Noon Kickoff, throughout the year.<\/p>\n

Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel)<\/p>\n

Affiliation: ESPN<\/strong>
Impressions: 836 million<\/strong>
Average per post: 316k<\/strong><\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s senior college football insider, Pete Thamel brought 836 million impressions on X in 2025. He is also part of College GameDay and co-hosts the College GameDay podcast alongside Rece Davis.<\/p>\n

Hayes Fawcett (@HayesFawcett3)<\/p>\n

Affiliation: On3 | Rivals<\/strong>
Impressions: 822 million<\/strong>
Average per post: 389k<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rounding out the Top 10 college sports influencers, brands and creators for 2025, On3 | Rivals recruiting and transfer portal reporter Hayes Fawcett<\/a><\/strong> generated 822 million impressions on X. He is the go-to for commitment announcements on social media.<\/p>\n

More top college sports accounts<\/p>\n

Will Compton \u2013 Bussin\u2019 With The Boys<\/strong> (@_willcompton): 769 million
\/r\/CFB \u2013 Reddit<\/strong> (@RedditCFB): 762 million
Liam Blutman \u2013 Barstool Sports<\/strong> (@Blutman27): 742 million
Robert Griffin III \u2013 FOX Sports<\/strong> (@RGIII): 723 million
Rivals<\/strong> (@Rivals): 647 million
Yahoo! Sports<\/strong> (@YahooSports): 549 million
Josh Pate \u2013 Josh Pate\u2019s College Football Show<\/strong> (@JoshPateCFB): 540 million
Tate Moore \u2013 Barstool Sports<\/strong> (@BarstoolTate): 537 million
Lane Kiffin \u2013 LSU football<\/strong> (@Lane_Kiffin): 478 million
The Athletic<\/strong> (@TheAthletic): 474 million
Brandon Walker \u2013 Barstool Sports<\/strong> (@BFW): 446 million
ESPN College Football \u2013 ESPN<\/strong> (@ESPNCFB): 440 million
Unnecessary Roughness \u2013 Barstool Sports<\/strong> (UnnecRoughness): 416 million
Pete Nakos \u2013 On3<\/strong> (@PeteNakos): 411 million
Brett McMurphy \u2013 On3<\/strong> (@Brett_McMurphy): 407 million<\/p>\n

Through 2025, college sports popularity surged, and social media was a big factor. That trend is expected to continue going forward, with more voices sure to enter the space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As college sports sees a rise in popularity, more prominent voices are joining the space. On3 is breaking…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":599018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1318,1317,1315,1316,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-599017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116092569562834448","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}