Celebrities are people too–and people like college football. While some are casual fans, others get into the outcomes and publicly try to predict the scores. Everyone loves the college football season, some more than others. Most people choose to vote for the college they attended, but others have their own opinions on the sport. We often forget that celebrities live real lives–that includes going to college. Due to this, some are very open about their love for their alma mater and represent them in such strong ways.
College Football Conferences
The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, proposes rules and acts as the referee of collegiate sports. In the NCAA, there are multiple conferences that colleges are placed in. Conferences are determined by location, size and the mission of the university.
Certain conferences are deemed better than others. The “Power Five” conferences are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference and Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Generally, viewers care the most about the Big Ten Conference. It is known as a powerhouse in collegiate sports.
While these are the big ones, celebrities who attended schools outside these parameters still care about other conferences. Some celebrities also care about smaller conferences because they like the message or games being played.
Texas’ favorite fan, Matthew McConaughey
University of Texas class of 1993 alum Matthew McConaughey is not quiet about his love for Longhorn football.
Before the 2025 season began, he commented on his excitement for football, specifically about Texas. Despite being ranked number one, he is certain that they care about the goals they have set for the season.
“This team doesn’t give a damn about that noise. They’re ready to earn it. It’s a long season, so we’ll see, but that’s what I love about the makeup of this team. Head, heart, soul—all aligned in the belief that it’s theirs to go get. Hook ’em,” McConaughey commented.
The actor is active on social media, especially Twitter, about his team. This is why his silence after the Ohio State and Texas game was recognizable.
This year, McConaughey was joined by Glen Powell. A fellow Texas fan and alum, Powell attended the game–but brought a surprise. The actor assisted with the announcement of awarding fifth-year senior linebacker Marshall Landwehr a scholarship. His hard work for the team was not unnoticed and in his final year, was put on scholarship by Texas.
Timothée Chalamet votes Bobcat
In the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship last year, Ohio University faced Miami University–the Miami in Ohio. Going into the game, Ohio had lost to Miami multiple times over the past few years, scaring some of the fans and players.
While it was close, Miami was projected to win. Miami was favored by most judges and professionals–but not Timothée Chalamet.
The Dune star joined the College Gameday desk in Atlanta on the morning of the game to predict the MAC Championship, among others. As he came prepared and researched, the actor knew what he was talking about.
“These teams are 2-2 in their last four matchups, RedHawks defense looks good,” Chalamet said. “But I’m looking at fourth-year Bobcats quarterback Parker Navarro. Sixty-five percent completion rate, if he can get going, he’ll tilt this in favor of the Bobcats. I’m going Bobcats here.”
Later that day, Ohio almost shut out Miami with the end score being 38-3.
In the same interview, Chalamet predicted Arizona State beating Iowa State in the Big 12 championship. His team easily took down Iowa with a 45-19 win.
Gladiator inspires Michigan
In 2000, Russel Crowe starred in Gladiator, arguably his most famous movie. Seven years later, he used this fame and aggressiveness to inspire the University of Michigan football team to shut out Notre Dame.
As the actor is friends with Lloyd Carr, the coach of Michigan’s football team at the time, he was able to secure a speech from the actor.
“His speech was nice,” a linebacker Shawn Crable said. “It got us fired up.”
The team had lost its first two games of the season at this point. While the season had not been going on for long, they could not continue to play this way and have the hopes of doing well later on.
Notre Dame had not been doing their best either. Before the game against Michigan, they had lost their first two and went on to win the next two, resulting in a five-game loss streak. After one win, they went back to having a losing streak of four.
Immediately following Crowe’s pre-game speech, Michigan scored 38 points against Notre Dame, who put up nothing. With losing the first two games of their season, Michigan needed this win.
Michigan went on to win the next eight games and then their bowl game against Florida in the Citrus Bowl.
Ferrell joins the O-Line at OSC
In the first week of their 2023 season, the University of Southern California got a visit from Step Brothers star Will Ferrell.
The comedy star graduated from USC in 1990 and has been a fan ever since.
Ferrell spoke to the Trojans after practice on taking care of themselves and offered to do conditioning for the team. He also asked to be considered for the team captain.
Head coach Lincoln Riley was going into his second season coaching at USC and had high winning stakes. At the end of the 2022 season, he led the Trojans to an 11-3 season where they were ranked #12 in AP Poll.
Riley likely hoped that bringing Ferrell to the team would help their spirits and bring them closer together. Unfortunately, the team did not get better than their 2022 season, ending with an 8-5.
Corso riding with Ohio State
Lee Corso, football analyst, made his final appearance at Ohio State this past August. In 1996, Corso put on the Ohio State mascot’s head for the first time and changed pregame shows forever.
On October 5, 1996, Corso wanted to use a prop to pick Ohio State over Penn State in the game to be played later that day. Getting approval by OSU to use the headgear was almost impossible, but once he was given permission, it was incredibly impactful.
Due to this, Corso felt that his last pregame pick had to be with Ohio State. The crowd celebrated and showed their appreciation for Corso. The Ohio State marching band even spelled out “Corso” on the field.
The show will continue without Corso, but his impact on it will not be forgotten.
College football culture
Whether they are fans of the sport or have a connection, celebrities are seen in the media frequently in regards to football. It seems incredibly wholesome that even after they make it big, a lot of celebrities still go out and root for their alma mater. If they did not attend the college, they support the teams in any way they can.
Hopefully, the next season of college football is full of healthy rivalries and supportive people.
