Fifth Quarter.
To many, it might not be immediately clear what that means – after all, there are only four quarters in a game. But back in my middle and high school days, basketball teams would sometimes play a fifth quarter, an extra period that gave bench players a chance to gain valuable game experience before the real scoring began.
That idea of giving people a shot became the foundation for Fifth Quarter Inc., the brainchild of John Cooper, a teacher and coach from North Florida. He originally launched a website while still in school, but the heart of the brand has always been on social media, especially Facebook and X.
What began as a Florida State-centric account has since grown into a vast network of pages. The two biggest are the main Fifth Quarter account, which boasts over 15,000 followers on X and 25,000 on Facebook, and the CFB Home page, which has close to 118,000 on X and nearly 70,000 followers on Facebook.
Fifth Quarter has also branched out into dozens of smaller, team-focused accounts. These include pages dedicated to major programs like Texas A&M and Virginia Tech, as well as some smaller schools like Coastal Carolina, which was run for six years by Hayden Bannick.
At its core, Fifth Quarter has become a launchpad for aspiring sports journalists, influencers and superfans looking to rep their favorite teams or even entire conferences. One standout example is the Fifth Quarter ACC page, known as Just Means Less. Founded by Micah Beutell, it has now passed 10,000 followers and is one of the primary social media voices covering the ACC.
If you’re a fan of a specific team, conference or league, creating a Fifth Quarter account can be a great first step into the ever-growing world of sports media and social engagement.
Over the past decade, Fifth Quarter has become one of the most successful college football-focused social media brands around. Whether it will grow beyond its college football roots remains to be seen, but if you’re looking to be part of something that connects fans, gives new voices a platform and covers the sport with passion, there just might be a Fifth Quarter page for you.
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