Are certain college sports more popular on the east coast versus the west coast?

Hi all, I'm considering colleges on both coasts and I know that culture and interests can vary by region. I wonder if certain college sports tend to be more popular on one coast than the other. Can anyone provide some insight on this?

Hello! You're absolutely right that the regional culture can influence the popularity of certain sports at colleges on different coasts. One broad generalization we can make is that on the East Coast, especially in the Northeast, college basketball and lacrosse tend to be quite popular. For example, universities in the "Basketball Belt" (a term for schools in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Syracuse, and Villanova) have historically strong basketball programs, and their games are often major events on campus. Lacrosse, as a sport, has its roots in the Northeast, and colleges in this area, such as Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, often have highly successful teams.

On the West Coast, college football and water sports such as swimming and water polo tend to be especially popular. Football is dominant at many large public universities, like the University of Southern California and the University of Oregon. Additionally, the excellent California weather allows for year-round outdoor swimming, so many top swimming and water polo programs, like those at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, are located there.

That being said, the popularity of a sport can depend on more than just regional culture. Factors like the success of the team, the university's investment in the sport, the size of the school, and the student body's level of interest can all be influential. And of course, there are exceptions to every rule! So this is a simplified explanation, but it can help give a starting point to understanding sports cultures on both coasts.