For sure, the pursuit of NCAA basketball championships has got UConn nation all excited.
Yet, the size of its fan base might be a bit overstated, at least according to one measure - social media followers.
It turns out UConn teams have some of the highest percentages of fake followers in the country on the popular social media site Instagram.
That’s according to a study by Flashpicks, a college basketball website that has news, game picks and betting tips.
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It analyzed the Instagram profiles and followers of 105 U.S. college men’s and women’s basketball teams, and men’s football teams using Star-ngage, a fake follower checker.
| Rank | College | Total Instagram Followers | Estimated Fake Followers | Percentage of Fake Followers |
| 1 | Duke Blue Devils | 1,653,000 | 426,400 | 25.8% |
| 2 | Oklahoma Sooners | 677,700 | 108,200 | 15.97% |
| 3 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 1,342,700 | 192,800 | 14.36% |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 1,485,400 | 122,400 | 8.24% |
| 5 | Georgia Bulldogs | 1,087,800 | 82,100 | 7.55% |
| 6 | Clemson Tigers | 858,500 | 63,100 | 7.35% |
| 7 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 859,900 | 62,600 | 7.28% |
| 8 | UConn Huskies | 463,800 | 31,200 | 6.73% |
| 9 | Kentucky Wildcats | 805,900 | 51,700 | 6.42% |
| 10 | Oregon Ducks | 834,900 | 53,100 | 6.36% |
| 10 | Tennessee Volunteers | 882,000 | 53,500 | 6.07% |
Fake followers include:
- Automated accounts known as bots
- Inactive accounts that are abandoned or rarely used
- Purchased followers
Fake followers can be a serious issue for organizations that have a large social media presence because it can skew engagement rates.
Local
UConn, according to this study, has roughly 464,000 Instagram followers, yet around 31,000, or just under 7%, are fake. That’s the eighth most fake followers of any school team.
The schools ahead of UConn include the Alabama crimson tide - the UConn men's’ Final Four opponent.
Number one on the fake follower’s list? The Duke Blue Devils, with almost 26% Instagram followers considered fake, followed by the Oklahoma Sooners at 16% and the Ohio State Buckeyes at 15%.
We reached out to UConn for comment on this, but have not yet heard back.
