Indiana football made history Monday night, securing its first College Football Playoff National Championship title in school history, and completing possibly the greatest turnaround in sports history.
But the Hoosiers were also part of another kind of history Monday. Their national championship matchup against the University of Miami, broadcasted on ESPN, set near-record viewership.
The game drew an average of 30.1 million viewers, while 33.2 million people tuned in at its peak, per ESPN.
The Hoosiers’ Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State on Dec. 6 set record viewership for the conference title matchup, averaging 18.3 million viewers. Indiana’s Rose Bowl victory over the University of Alabama brought an average of 23.9 million viewers, while Peach Bowl ratings took a dip with an average of 18 million people watching the Hoosiers’ 56-22 victory over Oregon on Jan. 9.
The title game became the second most watched CFP title game in history, and the most watched in over 10 years. It falls behind Ohio State and Oregon’s 2015 matchup –– one that saw 33.9 million average viewers. Monday’s matchup also presented the most-viewed non-NFL sports event since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football offseason.
