The future of college sports hangs in the balance.
As leaders in university athletics sprint to keep pace with a rapidly changing landscape, one thing is certain — institutions must evolve to survive and advance.
This was the underlying theme at the Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum (SBJ IAF) in Las Vegas, N.V., where a healthy dose of anxiety was overshadowed by unanimous confidence that collegiate athletics is entering an age of unprecedented popularity and opportunity. The fans are passionate, the interest is incalculable, and the unrealized streams of revenue could build a 107,601-seat stadium 100 times over.
For two days the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas served as an industry incubator, hosting the brightest minds and biggest brands in college sports. They rubbed elbows, climbed on soap boxes, and debated the impact of a forthcoming House settlement in a trio of antitrust lawsuits that could have ripples affecting the next generation of collegiate athletes (and the generation after that).
Greenfly had a front-row seat as ample ideas and key insights were shared over the course of a craftfully-curated schedule of panels and fireside chats. Here’s what we learned…
The Ecosystem is Stronger Together
There is an insatiable demand for content by brands wanting to activate and reach fans.
Learfield President & CEO Cole Gahagan simply stated that fans and revenue teams alike can’t get their hands on enough content.
Gahagan also spoke about the increasing expansiveness of brand partnerships that can drive more value.
“What we do a bad job of [in the US] is we don’t have an omnichannel model in our business,” he said. “[It should be] an ‘and,’ not an ‘or,’ model. How do we have a comprehensive conversation with [a brand] about activating together?”
The opportunity to harness and activate a school’s full ecosystem will be more valuable than ever in 2025, which leads to the next point…
Activating Student-Athletes is the Next Big Boom for Revenue
Learfield shared an eye-catching stat that bodes well for the future of brand partnerships in college athletics: their average deal renewals have increased by 6%, and when the renewal includes student-athlete Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals, the increase jumps to 17%.
To save you the trouble of doing the math, that’s a whopping 183% more revenue thanks to NIL inclusion.
“The new day is student-athlete and influencer marketing, and content and storytelling,” Learfield EVP of NIL Growth & Development Solly Fulp said on a panel.
“I will tell you our university communities can’t get enough of the storytelling that these 18 to 24-year-olds have. And if you connect it with the right brand, that’s next-level engagement.”
Auburn’s Deputy AD of External Affairs Rhett Hobart also spoke of the massive revenue opportunity schools have when they can activate the NIL of their student-athletes. A lot of third-party sites are already co-creating content with collegiate athletes and, if schools can capture that value themselves, it will be a boon for revenue-hungry athletics departments.
“I think we’re just scratching the surface,” said Hobart, who has been part of several award-winning college sports marketing teams across schools.
“There’s an entire industry out there taking advantage of our fans’ fandom (e.g. recruiting sites).”
“I think we’re just scratching the surface of student-athletes [post-revenue sharing] being able to create content for our platforms.”
Hobart mentioned selling subscriptions against such content as one potential tactic.
The content opportunities even transcend the student-athletes and the games…there are compelling stories to tell and culture to capture, which leads us to…
Marketing and Monetizing the Fan Experience
Picture a gaggle of diehards in face paint and university colors screaming in the stands while pep bands play a fight song or rabid student sections shaking bleachers and distracting opposing free-throw shooters. These fans don’t just sip the Kool-Aid…they guzzle it through a fire hose, camping out for days on end to get a primo parking spot and hand-drawing signs to hold up in hopes of being shown in-frame for a second or two heading into a GameDay commercial break.
This tradition and pageantry aren’t just a lifestyle…they’re a way of life. And they’re great fodder for content, fan engagement and monetization.
“There’s this whole ecosystem and community that gets created, which naturally means there’s a content opportunity (that’s more sport-adjacent),” said Wes Day, who sees it first-hand as CEO of premium hospitality and full-service tailgating company REVELxp.
“It all starts to blend together as a hang-off of the main dish, which is the game itself.”
That “sport-adjacent” content already drives significant engagement on the social feeds of fans. If schools can capture and operationalize content themselves, there is a lot of value to create.
Wake Forest Athletic Director John Currie also noted the value of content highlighting the fan experience on-site. Showcasing the excitement and revelry can drive increased interest and engagement in getting more students and fans to come to games.
Creating and showcasing fan experiences was top of mind for the next conversation…
The Business of Bowl Games
The present and future of bowl games was a topic of interest amid the expanding College Football Playoff, compounded by other issues like player opt-outs and the transfer portal. But, the SBJ IAF panel on bowl games sees a healthy present and future, highlighted by more creativity than ever — and driving business outcomes for partners.
Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan discussed the increased importance of content and having fun for bowl games. He also noted the urgency for bowl games to ensure they were driving real value for their partners.
“We need to be a meaningful revenue input if we’re going to survive in the future,” Hogan said.
The revenue input equation was illuminated effectively by Pop-Tarts Brand Manager Alexander Sotiropoulos, who spoke about the brand’s experience activating around the super-viral, edible mascot-infused Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Sotiropoulos said typical metrics like game viewership and social media impressions do matter, but his team at Pop-Tarts focuses on how that top-funnel success translates to actual revenue. They worked last year to assess the bottom-funnel value and, well, it Popped.
Pop-Tarts sold 21 MILLION more toaster pastries in the week following the game compared to the preceding week and had relative growth for eight straight weeks following. He attributed that buzz — and that massive bump in realized revenue — to the viral content from their successful brand activation.
While much of the conversation focused on the revenue sports and a lot on social media, there were also reminders to think beyond…
Beyond Football and Beyond Social
Football and basketball take up most of the oxygen in these conversations, but there’s plenty of latent value in the many other sports schools sponsor.
“College sports is more than just football and basketball,” said NCAA President Charlie Baker, who called out considerable and continued growth in volleyball, softball, baseball, and gymnastics. Between the rise of streaming and the growth of their fan database, the future looks bright for more fan engagement and more value creation from the so-called “non-revenue sports.”
President of ASP College with Altius Sports Partners Andrew Donovan was among many others who called out the opportunity in sports outside of football and basketball.
“They just need to invest in it,” he said.
Auburn’s Hobart spoke about the incremental revenue opportunities with the smaller sports, which can offer great access and lucrative premium experiences.
“There are diehard fans in every sport who want some kind of unique experience…and they’re incredibly popular in those sports, too,” he said.
Wake Forest’s Currie echoed that sentiment, noting that athletics can cultivate valuable development relationships through such access available with the non-revenue sports.
Here at Greenfly, we can attest to the fact that non-revenue sports can often produce the most compelling storylines and — by extension — content and opportunities for engagement and monetization, where the student-athletes are often more open and able to provide more access and authenticity.
The fandom and passion in college sports, whether it’s at a football game in front of 107,601 people or a tennis match with 500 screaming fans, remains an unparalleled lever for schools to pull on with the full weight of their enrollment, alumni and outlying communities.
As True as Ever — Athletics is the Front Porch of the University
The importance of athletics to the overall academic institution came out in a discussion with West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee. WVU’s university budget hovers around $8 billion with a “B,” and the athletics share of that budget is a relative pittance at around $100 million.
But, as West Virginia was conducting a search to fill its football head coaching vacancy quite literally during SBJ IAF, Gee noted, “No one asks me about the physics department. Everyone wants to know who’s gonna be the damn football coach?”
Gee also highlighted how athletics can reach the masses, engender trust, and help tell the school’s story. The 80-year-old Gee, who has been in university leadership positions for over 40 years, jokingly reminded the audience, “I’ve never been able to get 65,000 people to a chemistry lecture, but I can get 65,000 to a football game.”
As long as that remains true, college athletics should continue to survive, advance and thrive for years to come.
Thanks to Sports Business Journal for putting on another great Intercollegiate Athletics Forum! We were proud to be a partner and are excited to continue to work with schools, conferences, and partners in college athletics to drive revenue and engagement, and help ensure a bright future for college sports.
