College Football: These five U.S. states have the most FBS programs per capita
By John Scimeca
2. West Virginia
896,858 people per FBS program
West Virginia, Marshall
West Virginia University and Marshall University give the Mountain state two FBS programs, a notable feat for a state that has only 1.78 million people as of the latest 2021 census estimates.
Fielding its first team in 1891, West Virginia spent most of its program history as an independent for nearly a century. The Mountaineers joined the Big East in 1991, and when the league dissipated in 2011, West Virginia joined the Big 12.
The Mountaineers have struggled to replicate their success in the Big 12. From 2005 to 2007, some of their last seasons in the Big East, they won 11 games and finished ranked in the AP Top 10 each year. After a decade in the Big 12, however, the Mountaineers have only finished with a winning record against league foes four times.
After winning two Division I-AA (now FCS) national championships, Marshall fully joined the I-A (now FBS) ranks in 1997. Upon joining the conference and led by Chad Penne and Randy Moss, the Thundering Herd impressively won five Mid-American Conference titles in eight years. Marshall spent a decade and a half in Conference USA and will once again switch conferences by joining the Sun Belt beginning this fall.
1. Wyoming
576,851 people per FBS program
Wyoming
The Cowboys are Wyoming’s lone FBS program, which gives this state the No. 1 ranking almost by default considering that it’s the least populated U.S. state by a significant margin. Wyoming’s 578,000 people make it the least densely populated state in the United States, as its citizens are scattered throughout the mountainous terrain of the country’s 10th-largest land area.
The Cowboys began play in 1893 and have been a member of either the WAC or the Mountain West for the previous 60 years.
After a difficult stretch between 2000 – 2015 with just three winning seasons, current head coach Craig Bohl appears to have the Cowboys on right track. Since 2016, the team has won eight games in three separate seasons, not including last year’s 7-6 mark.
In that same time span, seven Cowboys have gone in the NFL Draft — including Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who went as the seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft.