¶ … marketing strategy a college athletic department. I a couple pages discussing background research a typical college athletic program, a school marketing increasing communities involvement ticket sales. Most universities have intermural athletic programs. However, there is a wide variation in terms of the funding, success, popularity and approaches between these programs, spanning from Division I powerhouses to relatively noncompetitive Division III schools. Regardless of the nature of the program or the school, athletic programs can be powerful marketing and publicity tools for academic institutions. Alumni donations often increase after a successful season, as do applications from more competitive students. Also, success tends to breed success in athletics: the more successful and highly-promoted the program, the more top athletes will be inclined to apply to the school -- the more top athletes are drawn to the school, the greater the likelihood of athletic success in the future.

For example, when Northern Iowa beat number one-ranked Kansas in the NCAA basketball tournament this spring, the Northern Iowa athletics website drew 1.5 million page views that month in March, three times the monthly average; the Northern Iowa Panthers' annual athletic fund drive went up 20% (about $1.1 million); and enrollment is projected to increase as much as 10% this fall -- even though Northern Iowa did not win the tournament (Logue 2010). To increase the profile of a program, in other words, there is no substitute for success on...

"There is a number of research studies out there that tend to show when a school's football or men's basketball team has sudden success there is some correlation to increased admissions applications," notes Chad McEvoy, associate professor at Illinois State of sports marketing (Logue 2010). Football has even more of a statistically noteworthy effect upon alumni donations and application figures. "The impact is more immediate in football because high school seniors are in the process of choosing a college in the autumn. Most have already decided by the time NCAA Tournament play begins" although success can still influence juniors and several years of prospective students in the future, who may remember watching the nail-biting upset victory of Northern Iowa over Kansas (Logue 2010).
Of course, it might be protested that not many schools can 'bank' on beating the number one seed in a major tournament as a way of gaining national attention as a Cinderella school. However, Northern Iowa's example does highlight the importance of recruiting top athletic talent, particularly for popular spectator sports like football and basketball. Regionally, of course, the most popular sports will vary -- in the icy Midwest and New England, ice hockey is quite well-attended, although not in the rest of the nation. In the South, football is king, while the Midwest is often described as basketball-obsessed. Regardless, it is difficult to generate community support and interest if the top sports do not garner much attention…