"College Football Encounters Its Biggest Rival: The Couch"

From Time

Review by Ryan Gerrity in SRM 435 (section 2)

College football has been a cornerstone for not only college students, but for fans of all ages. It seems as though college football brings the best out of people because they want to be apart of something bigger than themselves. Football is not just a four hour event, it is a weeks long countdown until a full day event that starts at sometimes, 8:00 AM. Attendance to these college football stadiums has filled over 80,000 people, but in the past couple of years, attendance has fallen dramatically.

The Southeastern Conference is the biggest, best, fastest, strongest conference in college football and they have even seen a fall in attendance. Nine of the fourteen SEC schools have seen a dramatic drop in attendance at college football games. University of Florida had a 137 game streak of sold out home games and that streaked ended just over a year ago. The University of Alabama, who has won the last two National Championships, has not sold out any of their home games in the past two years.

Before attendance dropped dramatically most Universities required the season ticket holders to make a donation on top of their purchase of the tickets. Most schools had a requirement of at least $5,000. Now, there is no required donation because they are trying to attract more people to purchase the season tickets. Another threat to the Universities and a cause of the drop in the attendance is the upper classmen that are attending the Universities. Over the past year 20% more upper classmen are not going or purchasing tickets to the football games. Another problem the Universities are having is promoting the games that the students or fans do not care about. All the fans want to see a top 25 ranked team in the country, and they cannot sell the tickets to the lower ranked teams. Some of the Universities are requiring people to buy tickets in two, one ticket for a big game against a big name school, and a ticket against a smaller school.

Marketing and promotions for college football games is very easy because everyone wants to be apart of the game and atmosphere. The problem the Universities are having is getting the fans into the game. Everyone loves to go to the tailgates, but once the tailgates end most people have started to go hoe to their own house and watch the game on their big screen HD TV. Having promotions at the tailgates is very important and when we worked the JMU football walking around the tailgates promoting the game worked. Interacting with the fans and getting them involved in the process is important because you want to know what will get them into the game and stadium.

A marketing strategy that could work for college football attendance is to promote the idea of being apart of something bigger. There really is not much better than the atmosphere of a intense college football, and you cannot replace that with atmosphere with a TV and surround sound. This article is relevant to this course because there is important ways we can learn how to promote and market tickets to not only students, but also all fans. Learning the different ways to reach people through different kinds of channels like social media, email, personal promotions through the tailgates. Also knowing your client, in this case it is the students and fans, and trying to promote the idea of going into the stadium and game.
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Review by Ben Edsall in SRM 435 (section 2)

The article we chose to use for this assignment was called “College Football Encounters Its Biggest Rival: The Couch” written by Brad Tuttle. This article talked about the current trend of college football teams struggling to sell out games, even including the SEC. It stated that with today’s drastic improvement in television technology, people do not feel the need to go to games when they can watch better quality in their living room. Tuttle also discussed how teams are struggling to sell season tickets as well as games against lesser opponents. The decrease in fan attendance is not extreme, but looks like it will continue to decline in the future. In the article it showed that nine out of fourteen teams in the SEC saw a decline in attendance. With these hard times some teams are starting to not require donations from season ticket holders. One program that was hurt tremendously was the University of Nebraska. The donations for the 2013 season ticket holders dropped 25% to 80% compared to last year. 

Later on in the article the topic of watching the game at home vs. watching the game at the stadium is discussed. People tend to feel that they receive a better experience in the comfort of their own home compared to the stadium. When people watch at home they have high definition television, their own food/beverages, easy access to the bathroom, and can watch multiple games. These factors need to be addressed by college football teams and figure out a more efficient way to market themselves. They need to promote that the experience at the stadium is like no other. I believe that teams can positively promote themselves by reaching out to the media and getting fans excited for the upcoming game. The team can do activities around campus and get the students involved to show school spirit, and make them feel as though they are a part of something bigger. Another strategy is to hang up posters around campus and host pep rallies to create a buzz around campus. Not only is the comfort of watching the game at home a huge factor, but the prices of food and beverages at games as well. From a sales point of view I believe it would be beneficial to lower the prices so more people would purchase the products, rather than keep them high where everyone just ends up getting frustrated. I believe that if football teams took these factors into consideration they could see a rise in ticket sales. 

This article is relevant to this course because it demonstrates the difficulty with fan attendance, and how teams need to market and promote themselves to increase ticket sales. Last weekend I worked the football game for James Madison University against Central Connecticut State University, and noticed some positive aspects of promoting the team. I walked around tailgates handing out posters and key chains to boost morale. Everybody loves getting free stuff and it showed from the reactions I received. If you are able to hand out free merchandise then there is a possibility more students will attend games. Also when students and fans were entering the stadium before kickoff I handed out thunder sticks which increased the excitement in the stadium tremendously. Overall I had a great experience working the game and feel that if teams put more effort into promoting the positive aspects of the game day atmosphere then they would have higher ticket sales.

"ESPN to televise college playoff"

From ESPN.com and Sports Media Watch

Review by Will Taylor in SRM 334 (section 3)

The BCS has always been criticized for how it picks the teams for the National Championship Game and people used to think that the teams that weren’t in the game didn’t receive a fair chance to prove themselves. Finally, they implemented a culture change in college football; the BCS playoff system. Now there is a much fairer shot for all the teams represented by the BCS to reach the championship. ESPN of course was the one to sign the media deal with the BCS to cover all the playoff games, the national championship, as well as other bowl games. It was a twelve year deal, from the 2014 season on to the 2025 season.The deal was worth over $7 billion dollars, and it covered all facets of media; TV, radio, mobile TV, ESPN Deportes, as well as all international media outlets of the game. The deal is huge, and could bring over $1 billion dollars in revenue. Another way that the BCS playoff system affects mass media is in the advertising before, during, and at each event. The amount of ways to advertise around this event is sure to bring ESPN as well as the BCS a huge amount of revenue. This topic is relevant to this class because it deals with stakeholders; like the universities, the BCS, and the fans. It also deals with mass media outlets, like television, the internet, and radio. It also deals with this class because we’re all avid sports fans, and this deal could revolutionize how we view college football, and sports in general.

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Review by Ben Edsall in SRM 334 (section 3)

The current event Will and I chose to present to the class was the new college football playoff system. It has been talked about for years and will finally be implemented for the 2014 season. The playoffs will consist of four teams that are chosen from a 15 member committee. This eliminates the old system of the computers calculating what two teams would be in the championship. Hopefully the new system will diminish a majority of complaints from the old system, which made some controversial decisions of which teams played in the championship. There will now be six major bowl games which consist of two groups, the contract bowls and the host bowls.

One major influence for the new system was the potential revenue from media rights. ESPN signed a 12 year deal worth $470 million which gives them rights for TV, radio, mobile TV, games in 3D, ESPN Deportes, and internationally. This contract is projected to generate annual revenues ranging from $600 million - $1.5 billion. That amount of revenue will attract other networks to join the contract which will raise the bidding price. The increase in revenue is a positive impact, but there are also other pros and cons.

Additional pros to the new playoff system are that it provides more advertising opportunities, teams that are not powerhouses now have a shot at reaching the championship, and it removes an easy schedule that forces teams to make the championship based on performance. A few cons are that there could be some preferential treatment towards the bigger conferences, other bowl games will be viewed as less important, and it takes away revenue for teams that do not reach the playoffs. Even though this system is not perfect it is a step in the right direction and hopefully will continue to improve in the future.

This topic is relevant to the class because it plays a major role within the broadcast media. We discussed in class how television is the most dominant way of providing content to the public, and this is clearly demonstrated by ESPN signing a huge contract to control the market. Another investment was in social media to help them expand and generate revenues from other areas. Social media is taking over society and with major investments into the market it will benefit the networks and companies tremendously.

"Katherine Webb, girlfriend of AJ McCarron, steals BCS spotlight"

From USA Today

Review by A.J. Monette in SRM 334 (section 1)

Katherine Webb stormed onto the national stage on January 7th, 2013. For many college sports fans, this was a day to be dedicated to the final game of the season, the BCS National Championship game. The game featured a highly anticipated match up between Notre Dame and Alabama, but the most memorable thing about the game was sitting in the stands. In the first half of the game, ESPN crews cut to a shot of Alabama quarterback, A.J. McCarron’s mother and girlfriend. The reaction from analyst Brent Musburger proved to be the highlight of the game, and a new overnight sensation was born.

Ten years ago this would not even have been a major story. This is not the first time a successful college quarterback has had an attractive girlfriend and it won’t be the last. It is also not as if Ms. Webb was a complete unknown figure, she was crowned Miss Alabama 2012 and went on to finish inside the top ten in Miss USA 2012. So what’s the big deal? Combine ESPN commentator, 73 year old Brent Musburger, a predominantly male audience, and the power of social media, and you will get your answer. Webb stated the game with just over 2,000 twitter followers, and as of January 26th, 2013 she is up to over 270,000 boasting a 120,000 follower advantage over her athlete boyfriend. This stat shows the power of social media. She was instantaneously thrust into the spotlight due to the reaction of fans on Facebook and twitter. She didn’t even do anything special; she was just there in the stands like any supportive girlfriend would be.

While she did not anticipate this level of celebrity, she is certainly taking full advantage of it. Since the game, Webb has landed a spread in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, a spot on ABC’s new reality show Celebrity Diving, a gig for Inside Edition as a correspondent covering the Super Bowl, and secured a place on next year’s Miss USA judging panel. Calling this woman a celebrity is a little far-fetched, but due to role of media and the reaction of fans she has managed to stay in the news far after the final whistle of the championship game blew. The comments made about her appearance were a little inappropriate, but they only added fuel to the fire. Constant tweeting and status updates about Webb made her all the more popular, and without social media this newest off the field sports phenomenon would just be another pretty face in the stands.

This story pertains to our class in particular because it shows us how key social media is becoming to our industry. It makes the world a much smaller place, and it also warns us how something that may not seem like a big deal, can turn into something massive. It also shows how far we have come as far as the role of media in athletics. The role a commentator plays should be one of informative, and to help explain the game. However that may not be the total target market anymore. We are more involved in the personal lives of athletes than ever. This trend can only be expected to continue as the prevalence and scope of social media increases. As the next generation in this field, we need to make sure we are up to date and brush up on our tweeting skills or we may find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage. 

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Review by Becca Gibbs in SRM 334 (section 1)

On January 7, 2013, AJ McCarron played in the BCS Championship against Notre Dame. Although his performance was enough to defeat the Irish 42 to 14, he was not the star of the night. Cameramen focused their lenses on 23-year-old Katherine Webb, girlfriend of Alabama’s quarterback, Aj McCarron, throughout the entire game. Commentators began to commentate on her rather than the championship game. Before the game Webb had about 2,000 followers, but by the end of the game she had over 90,000 followers. Now she has 237,000 followers on Twitter.

Although Webb is Miss Alabama, she did not attain fame through pageants. Sports fans and enthusiasts have recently taken a huge role in the expansion of social media. Twitter has become a favorite website for fans to use because of its efficiency and timeliness. Fans now have a direct line of communication with professional athletes through Twitter by simply tagging them in a post or tweet. Clearly enough people watching the BCS Championship game became mesmerized by Webb’s beauty to create such frenzy.

Sports media has been booming with the creation of Twitter and apps that make exchanging information and opinions easier. The sports industry is trying to keep up with today’s technology. Teams and players are creating accounts in order to stay close with their fans and followers. Katherine Webb is now immersed in the sports world, and the media can take full credit for that.

"Scandal at Penn State Poses Tough Choices for N.C.A.A."

From the New York Times

Review by Kirby Burkholder in SRM 334
The death penalty is a term that no college or university ever wants to hear associated with their name. Unfortunately for Penn State University, they are finding out what this term means. The death penalty is when the NCAA imposes penalties resulting in, at the most, a ban on the upcoming seasons. For Penn State, after the big scandal of Coach Sandusky being charged with sexual abuse on children, they were charged with many penalties as well. Penn State was fined 60 million dollars, a 4 year post-season ban was placed on the team, scholarships were reduced significantly from 25 to 15 for incomers, former players could transfer without NCAA transfer regulations, and all of Penn States’ wins from 1998-2011 were stripped. In the article we read, it argues whether or not these punishments are fair or not coming from the NCAA, and if the NCAA should be dealing with the penalties period since the scandal was a criminal scandal from Sandusky’s standpoint, not the actual team. 

From an outsider standpoint, you definitely feel for the Penn State community and all the players. It is hard to agree with stripping the teams’ wins from all those years for the players sake because they didn’t do anything to deserve not to have the wins counted. Actions by the NCAA did need to happen though. It was too big of a scandal, especially with other school officials being involved and staying quiet. The article makes a good point in that the NCAA can’t make the penalties too weak and then seem like the situation was handled lightly, but to what extent is enough for this type of situation? The penalties may always be arguable, but punishment definitely needed to happen because of the scandal and in order to set the example for other schools that things won’t just slide by.

This easily relates to our sport media class by the fact that this was huge in the public eye for months and months. When this scandal broke, it was all over the news, ESPN, papers, twitter, etc; all day and every day for a long time. It was the hottest topic in the US and talked about everywhere, sports fan or not. The media was eating this up and all media outlets were trying to be the first to break new information or add to the story. Still to this day it is talked about and the story is still breaking. This will go down as one of the biggest sports scandals of all times.

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Review by Kyle Linn in SRM 334

The Death Penalty, in sports is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a universities sport program. Being banned from sport for a year is the harshest punishment the NCAA can hand out and has done this five times prior. It is the ultimate way to slowly kill a program because of implications that the NCAA can impose on that school. This is what Penn State had been facing when this article was written. The NCAA was in debate over whether they should still force strict punishment on the accused school if the person in question wasn't harming the players or the actual “team.” Yes, what Sandusky has done is absolutely one of the grossest things I have ever heard of, but it is right to punish the whole football team, especially the players who had nothing to do with it?

At the time of this article, the NCAA had not struck Penn State with all of the violations they have received to date. I think that what the NCAA has done is kind of harsh, but in another way they are sending a message to the rest of the universities out there. The NCAA has been under ridicule because of all the negative press, especially college football that has been receiving quite a bit of “off-the-field” problems with players and coaches. They are sending a message out warning everyone else to pretty much keep their noses clean because the integrity of the game is suffering.

The media breaking this story has done it in a number of forms from Twitter to Facebook. The emergence of social media and news feeds has made this story covered from head to toe literally since it broke the public. Sara Ganim was the first to break this story after she was receiving tips and information. She spent much time in the field and would send back video and news through social outlets back to the office for others below her to follow up on. Investigating the story and not giving up eventually led to her uncovering the story and breaking it to the public. Sara’s reporting and investigating shows how reporters receive information and relay it back to their office as fast as possible. I had no clue how fast media can honestly spread until I read this article. In short, Penn State has a long road to recovery to bring their football program back from the depths of where it is now. The NCAA has imposed what I think are very strict and stern penalties and are showing the rest of the schools that they are in-charge and they will continue to hunt for violations among universities throughout the country.

"UPS, MillerCoors go in — and go big — on campus"

From SportsBusiness Journal


Review by Adam Carranza in KIN 332 (Section 2)


The start of the new football season began with both UPS and MillerCoors closing huge marketing deals with collegiate schools all over the country. UPS has almost 70 schools on its list stretching from coast to coast with such powerhouses as Texas, Florida, Ohio State and others. They are also in talks with the Big Ten and Pac-12 about sponsorships detailed to their championship games. MillerCoors is dealing with 23 schools across the country, while trying to promote strong messages about responsibility. This deal is coming after Coors Light lost its official partnership with the NFL, as Anheuser-Busch has taken over this season. While the college scene might be a first for MillerCoors, UPS had already made a deal in 2010 to become an NCAA corporate partner. These big multi-school deals seem to becoming a new trend that could catch on quickly, as opposed to dealing with each school individually.

Both companies are using sports to market their non-sport related product or service. The scale of the UPS deal shows just how important collegiate sports have become compared to the professional levels. This could open the door for other companies to try and complete something this large, because the NCAA has proved a worthy source of marketing over the years. Not only will this help UPS in the marketing game, but it could lead to deals with the schools to become their main shipping source. MillerCoors believes that this is a great addition to their marketing mix as they still have deals with many NFL teams, along with fantasy football and the MLB. Their deal is impressive because in the past schools have been hesitant to have a beer company as one of their main sponsors. They are allowed to put college marks on their point-of-sale advertising, but not on any television advertisements. By expanding their marketing attention these companies could pave the way for bigger and better deals in the future.

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Review by Josh Ruffner in KIN 332 (Section 2)

This article is about how UPS and MillerCoors are teaming up with the NCAA creating large sponsorships. This will be a whole new market for both corporations. UPS came upon terms of agreement with about 70 schools and a few conferences a deal worth $25 million a year. The only other corporation with this widespread sponsorship is State Farm which took them about 25 years to partner up with more than 90 schools. UPS will also shoot to gain sponsorship with some of the championship games this season. MillerCoors deal is with about 23 schools. Their idea is to market their product with responsibility messaging from point of sale with college marks. MillerCoors is reaching out to college football in hopes to fill the void from the loss of the NFL partnership. The deal will be somewhere are the $10 million range annually. MillerCoors will have to be careful promoting on college campuses where beer advertising can be sensitive because of underage drinking. UPS and MillerCoors are two of the biggest when it comes to sports marketing and we will see how they fair this coming season.

I think that this is a good idea for both corporations to dive into a new market. I think MillerCoors is doing a great thing by creating a grant program towards campus programs that create awareness about alcohol responsibility. I think they will do well in collegiate athletics because it is such a broad market as fans are more than just students. These large sponsorships are good for collegiate athletics and large corporations. It is going to allow the corporations to promote their product through a whole new market impacting a lot of viewers.

"Clothes make the brand"

From the Sports Business Journal: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/08/22/In-Depth/Branding

Review by Renard Robinson in Kin 332 (Section 2)

In Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, I chose the article “Clothes Make the Brand” to write my critique on. In the section, it discusses how the idea came about of being different in designing new uniforms and the importance of having unique uniforms to attract top level recruits to their universities. With some traditional powers succumbing to modern day styles; it seems the only option to go is with the evolution of new uniforms.

It all started in 1996 following a disappointing bowl loss. Nike chairman and Oregon alum, Phil Knight, had asked his design team a simple question: “How can we help the University of Oregon attract better students and student athletes?” In order to help get Oregon on the college football map, its simplest decision was to create uniforms that were out of the norm. Like always, with change comes controversy. Many sports writers despised the uniforms, but it was all part of the grand scheme of things. Over the past 5 years, the University of Oregon has been a perennial top 25 caliber team. Prior to that, they were arguably the laughing stock of the Pac – 10. What helped them attract the recruits they needed to compete in the Pac – 10 and nationally was the best uniforms in college football.

The success of their uniforms has spread throughout the country. In 2009, Nike released the Pro Combat Uniforms featuring 10 universities; Miami, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Texas, TCU, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech. Over the past few years, they’ve expanded to include West Virginia, Arizona State, and Boise State among others. With the popularity of these uniforms, top teams are annually at an advantage from a recruiting standpoint because these uniforms are a high commodity to high school athletes. It’s evident considering all of the universities sponsored by these uniforms are traditional powers or have been relevant within the past few years since unveiling new uniforms.

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Review by Cathleen Crouch in Kin 332 (Section 2)

This article which appeared in the Sports Business Journal, written by Michael Smith, is about how it is becoming more prevalent for schools to alter their looks by changing their uniforms in hopes of gaining more exposure and attention. In the article’s introduction it discusses how the University of Oregon revamped their football team that had no recognition with a new look and now has one of the best known football organizations in the country. This was all possible due to the use of smart decision making with their marketing and branding. Oregon’s athletic director, Rob Mullens said, “We had not had much success, so why not be bold and try something new. We used to be ridiculed for being out there, but now you look across college football and it’s the trend”. Other colleges around the country are now starting to see the success that Oregon has had with being edgy and daring with their branding and merchandise. Many more universities are now starting to follow in Oregon’s footsteps hoping for the same successful results. But for some schools, tradition over flashy merchandise is what gains recognition respect, with teams such as Penn State, Auburn and Alabama. These schools don’t need to rebrand their look to be successful. Instead, they have a tradition of being successful on the field.

Although rebranding a team in some cases proves to be more successful, universities must keep in mind that while finding a new marketing strategy can prove to be a worthwhile. However, it is also a good idea to spend time focusing on teamwork.

"UPS, MillerCoors go in — and go big — on campus"

From the Sports Business Journal: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/08/29/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/UPS-MillerCoors.aspx

Review by Dana O'Brien in KIN 332 (section 1)

UPS and MillerCoors, two large powerhouses in the sports and marketing industry are working with a number of teams and conferences in collegiate athletics. Over the years, particularly for the beer industry is has been difficult to get sponsorships with collegiate athletics. Many schools such as North Carolina won’t even accept it, they do not permit any advertising or promotion of alcoholic beverages even if its responsibility messaging. However other schools take advantage of selling beer during football, basketball and baseball games because of the revenue it generates. MillerCoors have made deals with the schools they are working with that they will provide visible responsibility messaging such as “21 means 21”. They are also not allowed to use the logos of schools on any of their products. However, Millercoors marks and school logos can appear on co-branded merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, koozies or coolers. MillerCoors is also creating a grant program called “Great Plays” which provides funds for on-campus programs that address alcohol responsibility issues. I think MillerCoors is doing enough to make sure their target market is reached and going above what is expected to ensure their best to fight against underage drinking. After all MillerCoors is a large company that merged together they are trying to find other ways to generate revenue after losing their contract with the NFL. Its going to take some time before other schools give into selling beer at their sporting events because of the underage drinking problems that could come with it. UPS has a deal with close to 70 teams and that will allow UPS to be on the ground for college football season with access to signage, TV and radio advertising, game programs, web advertising, hospitality and tickets. Many schools will be turning to UPS for their primary way to ship and logistics.