The data illustrates the highest-rated broadcasts of the NCAA basketball tournament championship games from 1975 to 2017. The highest-rated game ever was the national championship game matchup of Michigan State and Indiana State in 1979 with a rating of 24.1.
College sports on TVCollege sports are highly popular in the U.S. with around 40% of U.S. Americans following them in some way or other according to a survey by Harris Interactive. Within the last twelve months around 30 million people have attended a college sports event in 2012.
