Texas A&M fans narrowly top UT Austin fans as Texas’ most obnoxious, survey finds
COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 08: Fans congratulate Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) after an SEC football game between the Texas A&M Aggies and Missouri Tigers on November 8, 2025 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, MO. (Photo by
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas A&M fans have claimed a title in college football, but it's one that no fan base wants.
A statewide survey was conducted by Overton Insights as part of a broader statewide poll sponsored by the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Texas A&M and UT Austin's obnoxious fan bases
AUSTIN, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 28: The Texas Football team running out of the tunnel during the Texas vs Texas A&M football game on November 28, 2025 at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by The University of Texas Athl
What we know:
The survey asked respondents the following question, ahead of the start of the college football season: "Just for fun: which of the following college fan bases would you say is the most obnoxious?"
The survey found that 29.7% of Texas likely voters consider Texas A&M’s fan base the most obnoxious in the state. The University of Texas followed at 27.4% and the University of Houston ranked third at 11.2%, followed by Texas Tech at 10.3%, Baylor at 9.6%, SMU at 6.7% and TCU at 5.1%.
Political partisanship and Gen Z trends
By the numbers:
These results showed a partisan divide between fans of Texas and Texas A&M.
Republican voters chose UT as the more obnoxious fan base, 31.9% to 24.1% for Texas A&M. Democratic voters were more likely to choose Texas A&M, 37% to 20.9% for UT.
The survey also found a different trend among younger voters. Among respondents ages 18 to 29, Texas Tech ranked first at 24.1%, followed by Texas A&M at 20.4%, UT at 18.2% and TCU at 17.3%.
Could Texas Tech be next?
FORT WORTH, TX: Cameron Wright #89 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrates with fans after the Texas Tech Red Raiders beat the TCU Horned Frogs 56-53 on October 20, 2012 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
What they're saying:
Overton Insights Poll Director Mark Cunningham noted that the Brendan Sorsby situation for Texas Tech could possibly be the reason younger demographics, who are actively in college or more actively following Texas college football news, are willing to label Texas Tech the most obnoxious fan base.
Cunningham said the younger voters’ results could signal a shift in how Texas college fan base is viewed.
"While A&M and UT are currently way ahead in terms of obnoxiousness, there may be a changing of the guard coming," he said. "While the SEC schools are among the biggest and wealthiest in the state, it’s somewhat shocking that their fan bases are considered far more obnoxious than that of reigning Big 12 champion Texas Tech, which has come under fire recently due to NIL and the transfer portal."
Survey methodology
Dig deeper:
The survey included 1,167 Texas likely voters who were recruited through text messages and completed an online questionnaire in English from Aug. 24 through Aug. 26.
Results were weighted by gender, age, education and race to reflect the likely-voter population in Texas.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by Overton Insights as part of a broader statewide poll sponsored by the Texas Public Policy Foundation.