College football still remains a staple of cable sports networks such as Big Ten Network, ESPN and FOX Sports.
But there has been a growing number of games in recent years moving to broadcast channels that are free through over-the-air (OTA) TV.
That means you don’t need cable, satellite or even a streaming service to watch live games from both major NCAA conferences like Big Ten and SEC. By learning some basics of how to pick and set up a TV antenna, you can start watching games on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW.
The 2021 Big Ten Conference agreement with major broadcast networks made college football games more widely available on broadcast channels than they have been in years. Likewise, per a 2023 deal, The CW has secured the rights to 50 ACC games.
A 2024 report by Nielsen estimated that nearly 23 million households in the U.S. are using an antenna.
What College Football Conferences are on OTA TV?
If you already have a TV antenna, here is a broad overview of which NCAA conferences you can find on free over-the-air TV.
- Big Ten: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and The CW.
- SEC (Southeastern Conference): ABC, CBS, and FOX.
- ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference): ABC.
- Big 12: Games air on ABC and FOX.
- American Athletic Conference: ABC and FOX.
- Conference USA: Some games air on CBS.
- Mountain West Conference: Some games air on CBS.
- Mid-American Conference (MAC): Some games air on CBS.
- Ivy League: Some games air on FOX.
- Big Sky Conference: Some games air on FOX.
Additionally, NBC broadcasts Notre Dame home games, and CBS airs some games featuring military service academies.
What to Do to Get NCAA Games on an Antenna
Adding a TV antenna to your home entertainment setup adds more live sports than just college football. You can get most NFL games on OTA TV. NCAA basketball,
Premier League, Indycar, NASCAR, LIV Golf, WNBA, NBA and NHL games are available to antenna users.
Here are some tips on getting started with an antenna for watching local broadcast channels.
Know your Bands
Use the free tool from the Federal Communications Commission, DTV Reception Maps, to find out whether local TV stations around your home use the UHF or VHF band.
If there are local stations transmitting on VHF, Hi-V or Lo-V, then you should pick an antenna that has VHF and UHF elements.
Antenna Gain, Not Range
You can’t escape the term “antenna range” when you start looking over product details or specifications for different styles of antennas. However, range estimates are a misnomer that often lead to customers picking the wrong TV antenna for their home.
Determining whether you need an antenna with medium or high gain is much more important. Gain is measured by decibels isotropic (dBi). A higher-gain antenna is great for rural areas. A medium-to-high gain antenna is usually suitable for most homes in suburban areas.
Antenna Style
Knowing the styles of TV antennas is another area where consumers can get an edge with picture reception.
For example, a directional antenna does not mean you can only get OTA signals from only one direction. It just means the antenna is built with a higher gain so that it can focus on getting weaker signals from distant towers.
A multi-directional antenna distributes its gain so that it can receive antenna signals from a number of directions. Multi-directional antennas sacrifice some signal strength in any one direction to cover a wider area.
Omni-directional antennas distribute gain evenly in all directions. It can receive signals from any angle, but comes at the expense of overall signal strength compared to directional and multi-directional antennas. In my experience, omni-directional antennas are better for a radio or stereo system than for TV reception.
Antenna Setup: Indoor and Outdoor Antennas
Outdoor antennas will always outperform indoor antennas. An outdoor antenna is often mounted at a higher elevation — whether it’s on a roof or inside an attic.
Outdoor antennas are generally larger than indoor models and can accommodate more substantial elements for UHF and VHF reception. Mounting an outdoor antenna in an attic is often a better option than using an indoor antenna if local broadcast towers are 30 miles away or more.
An indoor TV antenna is suitable when you are in an urban area or close to local broadcast towers.
Pick the Right Direction
While you are looking over your results from the DTV Reception Maps tool, or a similar resource, take note of which direction the majority of broadcast towers are around your home.
If most transmission towers are north and east of your location, then you will likely want to mount your antenna between those two directions.
Experiment with Channel Scans
The first time you mount your antenna might not result in perfect results. It often takes a little tweaking. You may have to slightly shift your antenna or change it’s elevation to get the best reception possible.
Remember, after you move your antenna, you need to do another channel scan under settings in order to reap the benefits. If you are using an amplifier, it’s best to re-position your antenna a couple of times and do multiple scans before adding more gain to the signal.
Watching Sports on OTA and Streaming
If you need cable networks like ESPN, or Big Ten Network for specific games, there are still inexpensive options such as Sling TV.
Watching college football with a TV antenna not only saves you money, but can drive a lot more satisfaction every time you turn on your TV to watch live sports for free.
