Part I: Should a University Have to Pay the University to Market the University?

Money. Isn't that what college is all about these days? As tuitions continue to rise far, far faster than inflation, along with parental stress and student debt to cope with these ever-growing costs, the costs of books, the cost of living on campus, the cost of parking—in short, the cost of everything even associated with the university experience—seems to be on an ever upward spiral.

More and more, university leaders see athletics—and athletic success—as a means of generating positive publicity—and buzz—for their schools. Positive exposure on social media and building name—i.e., brand—recognition is seen as the key to keeping a university in the spotlight today, even more than traditional means, such as research, job placement, service to the community, etc. Building the brand—i.e. marketing the university—is a way to better connect with their key revenue sources—potential future students who will be paying tuitions and past students who will be making donations as alumni to the university and its programs. And today across the board, college leaders see collegiate sports more and more by—both inside and outside of the athletic department—as the leading means through which to build buzz—and market—their respective universities. Mentions and likes on social media. Highlights on ESPN. Games on the ever-expanding TV landscape. All of these things are today easily quantifiable, making universities today truly their own brands—and a brand that can be marketed and measured! And like all marketing entities today, universities not only have to compete with one another, but with a thousand other competitive distractions today in what Gary Vaynerchuk so accurately labels as a constant battle for people's attention—and their money, business, and ultimately, their brand loyalty.

Thus, colleges across the country, big and small alike, are investing in their sports programs and facilities like never before, knowing that—as much as traditionalists and some faculty may not like the current state of affairs—this is the competitive landscape for colleges today. More and more, universities across the country—and indeed, at all levels of collegiate competition and across all forms of college athletics—face the pressure to, as the expression goes, "keep up with the Joneses." There is indeed very real, very felt peer pressure on universities today to compete in everything from actual on the field competitiveness to amenities in the stands to facilities for players.

Some of this competitive pressure may be attributable to vague, "hard to measure with hard metrics" notions like "building school pride" and "enhancing the student experience." Some of this may well be motivated by the fact that college presidents and other administrators are not immune from the very human emotions of jealousy and rivalry (e.g. "Well, if my main rival competitor fifty miles down the road has an indoor football practice facility, how do you expect us to ever compete in recruiting?"). Thus today, spending on athletics is increasingly viewed by university leaders as a strategic competitive investment that will hopefully pay dividends in the future for the institution. However, in the meantime, even in the non-profit environment of the university, you need current revenue to support those longer-term expenditures. Thus, the pressure is on across college sports for programs to generate as many dollars as possible (yes remember, it's all about the kids!).

While some middle and lower tier programs struggle to even make ends meet, many institutions—particularly at powerhouse football and basketball schools across the country—are at the same time seeing their athletic revenues reach record heights! In fact, as of last year, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Education and analyzed in the media, a total of 27 universities generated in excess of $100 million dollars annually in revenue from their sports programs! The top 10 "moneymakers" in all of college sports—a "business" that, after all, is all about the kids (yeah, right...)—and is part of a university, which, after all, is a not-for-profit "enterprise" (yeah, right...)—are ranked according to their latest annual revenue figures as follows:

1. University of Texas: $182.1 million
2. Ohio State University: $169.9 million
3. University of Alabama: $164.0 million
4. University of Oklahoma: $150.4 million
5. University of Michigan: $146.2 million
6. Louisiana State University: $141.5 million
7. Auburn University: $140.1 million
8. University of Tennessee: $135.9 million
9. University of Notre Dame: $134.2 million
10. University of Florida: $134.0 million

(Source: Business Insider - November 2017).

The University of Texas—the number one college sports program in the country—at least in terms of dollars, not necessarily on the field success for its sports—has, for the past three years, generated over $120 million annually from football alone!

All of this means that the athletic department budget alone for institutions such as those on this list would qualify that unit as a mid-to-large sized business! Thus, university leaders as a whole and athletic directors in particular are today tasked to deal with success not just on the actual fields, stadiums, and courts of competition; they must also deal with all the attendant pressures and challenges of operating in an increasingly competitive marketplace. There is a "bottom-line" reality to all of college sports today, and so, to borrow one of the all-time, overused sports clichés, there is a true "sense of urgency" for college sports programs today. this is the pressure to not just produce winning teams on the field, but to demonstrate real-world financial results, both in the short-term and over the long-haul.

Across the sports landscape, games—even those that are truly big events—are having trouble actually getting people in the seats. The high cost of actually attending a game—the prices of tickets, and food and drink, and parking, and souvenirs, and etc., along with the time commitment, the hassle, the crowds, the bad behavior, the alcohol, the weather, and yes, quite often, the lack of reliable Wi-Fi—has hurt attendance not just in professional leagues, but at college sporting events—and even high school games—across the board! When combined with the fact that almost every game in every sport imaginable is now being televised on our 5000 channels today- or streamed on some app somewhere—legally or even illegally—and the fact that viewing the game at home—on your "big ass" high definition TV or monitor—with endless snacks that you already have at your fingertips, well, that's indeed a tough sell!

With declining attendance at actual collegiate sporting events—including football, this begs the "$64,000 question" (well, actually a whole lot more than that!) for all universities and colleges today. Put quite simply and bluntly, the strategic challenge is: So how do you bring in the "mo' money" that your university needs to keep competing in the athletics arms race if revenue from actually selling tickets to your school's games is likely flat—at best—or actually in decline? The answer is again a matter of marketing!

If you take a closer look at that Business Insider analysis and ranking of the "bigly" schools that generate in excess of $100 in annual revenue, there's a number that is quote surprising. In every case—with the exception of three schools (The University of Southern California [ranked #25], Stanford [#21], and Notre Dame [#9]) who chose not to report their exact revenue breakdown)—their research showed that the schools' marketing revenues—from licensing, sponsorships, promotions, etc.—exceeded the amount that they received in donations to support their sports programs—and in some cases actually exceeded their average annual football revenues. This makes branding—and marketing—the university's sports programs (not just football, but it is, after all, the "cash cow" for most large institutions that have perennially successful teams on the gridiron) and all-important proposition not just for athletic administrators, but for university leaders.

So, it should come as no surprise that colleges and universities today—both in the top echelon of the sports world and in the, well, not likely to be on ESPN for anything category are literally pulling out all the stops and looking under every rock—whatever idiom you might like to choose—to maximize their marketing revenue. From licensing their university names and mascot logos to be put on every item imaginable to finding creative ways to leverage the power of endorsements, colleges are getting increasingly more creative—some would even say desperate—in marketing their sports programs. Heck, this author's school—Southeastern Louisiana University—even had an "official" burrito and chicken finger!

The Small Steps of a Revolution in Higher Education

And so now a case has come to light that some may view as a creative use of branding, while others may see it as being a bridge too far. And so, in the second part of this article, we will be examining the story of the University of Illinois, where this school year—and perhaps beyond, a new logo will be seen each and every time their football coach—and every other coach at the university holds a press conference. This is the new name and logo of their business school—and the university's Gies College of Business actually paid to have their program featured in that way.

How and why all this came about is a very interesting story, and it is one that might have serious implications for schools around the country—as well as being a model for a new way for academic programs to better market and position their offerings in an increasingly competitive higher education marketplace! This will be the subject of the second and concluding part of this article.

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