The best fan signs in college basketball (2024)

Louisville Cardinals fans hold up a sign for injured player Kevin Ware of the Cardinals before taking on the Wichita State Shockers the Final Four.

Louisville Cardinals fans hold up a sign for injured player Kevin Ware of the Cardinals before taking on the Wichita State Shockers in the Final Four at Atlanta.

A fan of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles holds up a cardboard cutout giant head of Eagles head coach head coach Andy Enfield during their second-round game against the Georgetown Hoyas at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Florida Gulf Coast won, 78-68.

Students hold big heads of Miami seniors forward/center Julian Gamble (left) guard Durand Scott, center Reggie Johnson, forward/center Kenny Kadji and guard Trey McKinney Jones. What a way to go out on senior day. Grade: A-

Minnesota fans rush the court in celebration after beating Indiana. The fact that Dwight Schrute made the trip as well is way cooler.

You can't go wrong with Fat Amy. You just can't. Grade: A+

Miami fans are excited that Michigan went down, giving the hurricanes a chance to slide up the rankings. Grade: C

Makes you wonder if the kid Coach K cursed at is holding one of these signs. Grade: As all around

That's Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers' head in over-sized form. After beating Michigan for their first conference win, the Nittany Lions faithful deserve to have a little fun. Grade: B

We'd grade this sign poorly but since there are apparently so many Syracuse fans out there, we'll be courteous. The sign/fan support win, but the Orange didn't in a Feb. 23 loss to the rival Hoyas. Grade: B

This Syracuse fan should earn a diploma simply for this sign in the Orange's game against Georgetown on Feb. 24. Grade: A

Um, Karma alert. Duke Blue Devils fans might think these late January signs are solid...until the Terps stunned the Blue Devils in the next game the two teams met. Grade: C-

Colorado State fans get props for their efforts in this Feb. 23 game against New Mexico. How any player can focus when Mike Ditka and George W. Bush are staring at you is beyond us. Grade: B-

Fans hold up letters to spell out Jayhawks during a game between TCU Horned Frogs to mesh with their "flukes" signs, considering it was, well, a fluke that TCU previously beat Kansas. Grace: C

Welp, Seton Hall might not be in contention to win the Big East, but their fans know how to throw a good party, hence the picture sign of Dwight from The Office. Grade: B-

Indiana fans think they're so clever with this one. They're not. Grade: D

The Clemson Tigers might have lost to Miami 45-43 in this ACC game, but their fans win for a genius Samuel L. Jackson face/sign. Grade: C

"Purdue, these are banners." Can't argue with history. Grade: A-

Hey, at least he has style, regardless of where it came from. Grade: B

Pretty standard request here, unless she's talking about the over-21 kind of shot. Grade: C

This sign has everything: Indiana, the Big 10, the No. 1 ranking and the confidence to tie it all together. Grade: B

He needs some shoes and a pair of sunglasses to match that backpack, you know... Grade: A-

N.C. State fans pull a page from the UPS playbook with the "What can brown do for you?" tagline, referencing guard Lorenzo Brown. Grades: A for the sign, A for the guy on the left's facial expression.

"Don't feed the ducks." Grade: A

"Pope-Man" seems pretty stoked to be rooting for Xavier, and it would be sacrilegious not to appreciate the enthusiasm. Grade: B

Miami (Fla.) has been rolling this season and their fans want to make sure the ACC stalwarts know it. Grade: B

If mentioning ESPN on your sign doesn't get you on TV, wearing a Teletubby head should. Grade: A

At least she's smart enough to admit it. Grade: B

No a bad sign to support Wisconsin's Berggren in this Feb. 9 game. The Badgers ended up beating Michigan 65-62 in overtime. Grade: C+

San Diego State has one of the better student sections, especially when it comes to wordplay. "Gingeraffe?" It's not mean, it's not inappropriate, it's fun. Grade: A-

Spoken like a true college student. Don't we all? Grade: A

Calling Stanford "Harvard rejects" is another example of fans trashing their opponents schools. It's hard to say anything negative about Stanford, but this is a good start. Grade: A-

Gonzaga Bulldogs fans hold up a sign of Saint Mary's Gaels guard Matthew Dellavedova. No words needed for this one for it to sting. Grade: B

We've got everything here at San Diego State. From a hairless Britney Spears, to McLovin, to Dwight Schrute. Even Mr. McGibblets from "The League" makes an appearance. Grade: A

It's great that Jim Boeheim passed Bobby Knight on the all-time wins list. However clearly it's not great enough to get a better sign. Definietly more effort needed here. Grade: D

Mike Montgomery may have surpassed 100 total wins long ago, but tallying that many victories at California in just four years is a pretty solid achievement. Grade: B-

Trashing your opponent's team is one thing, but ragging on the academic integrity of the school is another. Regardless, it's probably safe to say that the Manti Te'o jokes don't stop being funny. Grade: B

Religious beliefs aside, the way Indiana has played at home this season is biblical in itself. Grade: B

Tom Crean vs. Tom Izzo? It's a toss-up. Grade: C

The face Illinois fans have made multiple times this season. Grade: B

Michigan lost to Indiana in Bloomington, and Manti Te'o jokes will never get old. Grade: A

A Gonzaga Bulldogs fan praises forward Kelly Olynyk. The seven-footer is normally famous for his hair. Grade: C

Syracuse fans love head coach Jim Boeheim. Grade: B-

Psy and Big Bird each had their varying levels of fame in 2012, and including Louis C.K. is a superb choice. Indiana fans clearly try to test their opponents' pop culture knowledge. Grade: A-

This one takes a few seconds to get the point, but this Gonzaga fan really doesn't like BYU. Grade: C

This creative Creighton fan supports breast cancer awareness by urging his fellow bros to "save second base." Being funny and supporting a good cause earns high marks. Grade: A

These giant cut-out signs have gotten huge this season. UNLV fans shown here hold up injured forward Mike Moser. Being good enough to get a sign even when you're hurt means you've made it big. Grade: B

A Baylor Bears fan holds up a sign paying tribute to the school's star Brittney Griner, who can probably dunk better than half the men's team. Grade: A-

A North Carolina Tar Heels fan holds up a sign asking what every college basketball fan was saying during the NCAA Tournament last year after Duke's early loss to Lehigh. Grade: B

Utah State's Danny Berger was sent to the hospital after collapsing durring practice in 2012. His return was met with appreciative and clever fans. Combined grade: A

Fans hoist a sign featuring Kevin Young imitating Macaulay Culkin's iconic pose in "Home Alone." The other sign asks "Who said you could win here?" After Oklahoma State's victory in Lawrence, this sign doesn't quite stack up. Combined grade: B-

No that's not a sign, but it's close enough. Questionable sweater aside, Cam Newton could literally do anything at an Auburn basketball game and still be a star. It's pretty cool that he's back at school, taking classes and being awesome. Grade: A

Well, this isn't exactly a sign, but these Kansas State fans did better. Grade: A for effort.

This Missouri fan's sign makes fun of former coach Mike Anderson, who left the Tigers to take the Arkansas job. The Tigers have won more games in the last two season than Anderson has with the Razorbacks. Grade: B

While not so much a sign, this Virginia Tech fan's homemade body armor appears to be made out of duct tape, and that's pretty cool. Grade: A

This picture of Shaka Smart is incredibly goofy and is guaranteed to make you laugh. Grade: A

This Georgetown fan's incredibly large sign pays homage to John Thompson III's famous line as well as the end of the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry in the Big East. Grade: B-, while the rivalry is ending, the Carrier Dome is not actually closing, so you can't really say that it is.

There's a lot to like here, as North Carolina State fans have Urkel, Ted and even Quagmire. The best part though is the giant brick directly behind the basket. Grade: A+

These Georgia Bulldogs fans went all out in support of their team and are also trending. Grade: B, top marks for dedication, but surely they could have come up with a three-letter thing other than #UG.

This Tennessee fan's sign is very important. It has many leather-bound books and its apartment smells of rich mahogany. Grade: A+

Just a Utah fan in a Luigi costume who wants to go "huntin" for the Oregon Ducks. Whether this is an elaborate ode to the NES classic "Duck Hunt" or just a dude who owned a Luigi costume and a dry erase board, we may never know. Grade: A-

This Ohio State fan made his sign, his neck? Whether they are stickers or, fingers crossed, tattoos, this is serious commitment to your team. Grade: B. I have never seen anyone use their neck to support their team, so A plus in the innovation department.

The Clemson band gets in on the sign act by utilizing two of the biggest internet memes from the last few months in Grumpy Cat and McKayla Maroney. Whiteboard kid with the Clemson pun is presumably there for posterity. Grade: A, unless for some reason you really hate internet memes, or kids with whiteboards.

This Kansas fan has a pretty solid sign warning the Oklahoma Sooners about "The Phog", a tribute to the Allen Fieldhouse, named after longtime coach Phog Allen. Grade: A, the unnecessary use of Old-English somehow makes this sign even better.