It's not universal among U.S. college students either. I went to a Div3 top-tier (academically) liberal arts college, and most people were oblivious to how our

It's not universal among U.S. college students either. I went to a Div3 top-tier (academically) liberal arts college, and most people were oblivious to how our sports teams did, unless you were on the team or close friends with someone who was. Probably because we lost a large percentage of the time. The sports culture is much more relevant at Div1 schools. These get a disproportionate amount of air time (at least as far as sports go), but that's largely because those are the schools where sporting matches are worth watching.