The University of South Carolina and Sports Business Journal will publish college basketball postseason social media rankings
March 17, 2026
The madness of March has a pulse. And the University of South Carolina is measuring it.
The College Sports Social Pulse™, the first-ever measure of college sports influence on social media, is turning its attention to college basketball’s postseason tournament. Beginning Tuesday, March 17 and continuing through the championship game, the University of South Carolina will rank the teams dominating the national online conversation.
The weekly rankings will be published in the Sports Business Journal, the nation’s premier outlet covering the intersection of sports, business and innovation.
“Every college basketball fan knows about blue bloods and Cinderella runs,” said Clay Owen, professor of practice at the University of South Carolina. “But this tournament is also about influence, visibility and momentum. The College Sports Social Pulse captures how fan passion spreads across social networks and which programs are truly driving the national conversation.”
The college basketball edition of the Pulse focuses exclusively on team-level performance, capturing how entire programs command attention as the national spotlight intensifies.
“Social media continues to have a gravitational pull for schools, coaches and players, media, and brands, and we’re excited to work with the College Sports Pulse team to be able to measure the impact around one of the signature events on the sports calendar,” said Josh Barnett, Managing Director / Editorial at SBJ.
The initiative builds on the University of South Carolina’s groundbreaking work tracking college football during the 2025-26 season. Each week, the Pulse analyzed millions of posts to determine which teams, coaches and players were shaping the digital narrative. Powered by advanced analytics and academic rigor, the rankings reveal who’s winning online, regardless of what the scoreboard says.
The College Sports Social Pulse is produced by the USC Social Media Insights Lab and uses a proprietary formula blending engagement, sentiment and volume to measure momentum across major social platforms.
“This is a new kind of scoreboard,” Owen said. “In today’s media environment, attention is currency. We’re measuring where that attention flows and which programs know how to harness it.”
About the USC Social Media Insights Lab
Founded in 2019, the Social Media Insights Lab at the University of South Carolina’s College of Information and Communications uses advanced analytics software to examine vast amounts of data from social media platforms and online forums. The lab supports academic research, enhances student learning and helps organizations make informed strategic decisions.
About Sports Business Journal
Sports Business Journal (SBJ), a subsidiary of Leaders Group Sports, an Advance company, sits at the epicenter of the sports industry. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, SBJ provides the news, the networking and the data to equip the most powerful executives in sports business to make more informed decisions, deals and partnerships. SBJ’s award-winning media content is delivered through multiple media platforms, hallmark events and market-leading data. To learn more visit: www.sportsbusinessjournal.com.
