AUSTIN, Texas — Texas A&M had the highest share of Texas likely voters naming its fan base the state’s most obnoxious, edging out the University of Texas in a statewide survey conducted ahead of the college football season.
The Overton Insights survey found that 29.7% of respondents selected Texas A&M, while 27.4% chose UT Austin.
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%.
The survey formed part of a broader statewide poll sponsored by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Researchers asked respondents: “Just for fun: which of the following college fan bases would you say is the most obnoxious?”
The results showed a partisan split between the two leading fan bases. Republican voters chose UT at 31.9%, compared with 24.1% for Texas A&M. Among Democratic voters, 37% selected Texas A&M, while 20.9% chose UT.
Younger respondents produced a different ranking. Among voters 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%.
Overton Insights Poll Director Mark Cunningham said the results among younger voters could reflect recent attention surrounding Texas Tech and college football issues involving NIL deals and the transfer portal.
“While A&M and UT are currently way ahead in terms of obnoxiousness, there may be a changing of the guard coming,” Cunningham said.
The poll included 1,167 Texas likely voters who responded to an online questionnaire in English from Aug. 24 through Aug. 26 after researchers recruited them through text messages.
Researchers weighted the results according to gender, age, education and race to reflect the likely-voter population in Texas.
