By Robbie Zaitchik | June 26, 2026
Earlier this month, Cosmos Sports & Entertainment presented key findings from the 2026 U Sports Championship Fan Survey, highlighting fan demographics, motivations, travel habits, spending patterns, and overall event satisfaction across the national championship season.
The survey collected 1,501 responses from fans across ten U Sports Championships between March and May 2026. Feedback was gathered through host schools’ email distribution to ticket buyers and attendees, helping provide a clearer picture of who truly attends U Sports Championships and what shapes their overall event experience.
The results showed that U Sports Championships continue to attract a highly connected audience. Many respondents were affiliated with a U Sports school as alumni, current students, parents, student-athletes, or staff. Alumni represented the largest group, reinforcing the importance of school pride and long-term connection to university athletics.
The survey also showed strong representation from fans aged 45 and older, as well as a notable presence of parents and families.
Fan motivation was one of the strongest takeaways from the survey. The top reasons for attending were support for a specific team and love of the sport.
Many fans attended because of a personal connection to a school, athlete, family member, or community. This shows that U Sports Championships are about more than the on-field competition. They mainly revolve around pride, connection, and shared experiences.
The survey highlighted the broader impact championship events can have on host communities. Many fans travelled from out of town, with some coming from more than 200 kilometres away. Attendees also reported spending money on meals, shopping, sightseeing, accommodations, and other activities in the local area.
These findings show that U Sports Championships can create value beyond the venue by supporting local businesses and bringing visitors into host cities.
The overall satisfaction was strong, with 81% of respondents describing their event experience as positive. One women’s hockey attendee pointed out that the event was welcoming, entertaining, and held in a positive and supportive environment.
Fans highlighted the quality of competition, event organization, atmosphere, fan engagement, family-friendly environment, and reasonable ticket prices as key parts of the championship experience. Many respondents also felt the events reflected important U Sports values such as sportsmanship, inclusion, and community connection.
For Cosmos Sports & Entertainment, the project reflects the value of fan intelligence in helping sport organizations make stronger decisions. Understanding who attends, why they attend, how they travel, what they spend, and how they rate their experience gives U Sports and its host schools valuable information for future planning.
Each participating host school will also receive a custom report featuring data specific to its championship. These reports are designed to support post-event review, future event planning, and continued growth across the U Sports Championship platform.
Through this project, Cosmos Sports & Entertainment continues to support U Sports by turning fan feedback into meaningful insights that can help improve the fan experience and grow Canadian university sport.
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