Alabama - The Tide and the Tigers both have massive fan bases
Arkansas - I’m guessing the Hogs football team would qualify for the OP
Connecticut - Two huge basketball teams (which naturally have smaller arenas) and a sometimes decent football team.
Delaware - No clue
Hawaii - Their football team has some notoriety, but I’m not sure Hawaii cares enough about any college sports to qualify.
Idaho - No clue
Iowa - Two football teams have large followings
Kansas - My initial thought was their basketball team, but a shit ton of Kansas residents are Chiefs and Royals fans. So much so that there is talk of moving the baseball stadium to the Kansas side.
Kentucky - Would have been the basketball team 20 years ago, but the football team has come on strong as of late. You also have horse racing which is wildly popular.
Maine - No clue
Mississippi - Two college football teams share the spotlight
Montana - No clue
Nebraska - This is the first state I thought of when I saw the OP
New Hampshire - No clue
New Mexico - Their main college football team has had a few good years in the past, but it’s another state where I’m not sure team sports is that big of a thing.
North Dakota - No clue
Rhode Island - No clue
South Carolina - Clemson and the 'Cocks easily disqualifies this state
South Dakota - I’ve lived here, but no clue
Vermont - Is maple tree tapping considered a sports franchise?
Virginia - UVa and Tech disqualifies this place
West Virginia - The Mountaineers football team are probably a big enough deal to qualify. Watch out for your couches.
Wyoming - No clue, but Josh Allen played football here, so maybe his team?
Good work, folks. Not gonna quibble with anything said. But IMO, if one college is dominant, I’ll consider that a single sports franchise even if it means that college’s football and basketball temas, or men’s and women’s b-ball teams.
WRT KY, there was a time that Louisville had a strong hoops program with a high profile coach. Never Nervous Pervis? But I haven’t followed hoops in decades.
Rick Pitino. Louisville was very good with him as coach, with an excellent run from around 2002 to 2015, winning the championship in 2013 – ironically, one year after Kentucky had won it.
Agreed. Kentucky has made the Final Four 17 times, and has 8 championships (though four of those were in the 1940s and 1950s, under Adoph Rupp, who was their coach for 41 seasons); Louisville has 10 Final Fours, and 3 championships.
I imagine it’s the Boise State Broncos football team, which has been in the top 25 a dozen times since 2000. They were ranked as high as #4 in 2009. The blue turf at their home field is pretty notable.
No disagreement on the Broncos. I think the main Idaho University is called the Vandals or something, but that’s about all I can come up with off the top of my head, so they don’t have much sports recognition that I’m familiar with. Boise State on the other hand, I actually remember things such as the the trick plays and wedding proposal at the Fiesta bowl as well as Kellen Moore getting a shit ton of records. Jeanty was pretty fun to watch as well. And, of course, that blue field.
As @kenobi_65 said, the bucking horse is just the symbol we use in Wyoming for… everything. The most dominant sports teams by fandom here are easily the Broncos and the Rockies, being the closest major sports teams.
One reason a Dawgs loss may feel so brutal to them is because college football is much less forgiving of losses. Depending on how they happen, 2-3 losses could be a season-ender or championship-denier for the Dawgs. Whereas the Falcons could lose 5-6 games and still be Super Bowl contenders, and the Braves could lose 70 games and still contend for a World Series.
