Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this creative project was to research best practices in the realm of collegiate athletics marketing and implement those findings into a new initiative aimed at increasing stakeholder awareness and interest in the athletics programs at Ohio Northern University. Much of the existing literature that explores marketing within collegiate athletics describes understaffed departments continually trying to formulate innovative ideas to promote their programs. The staffing shortages are undoubtedly most evident at schools within NCAA Division III, which have smaller operating budgets and often rely on their sports information staffs for the production of marketing content. As such, Division III sports information and communications staffs must determine the most effective marketing strategies in terms of audience reach and engagement so they can devote their limited time to producing such content. While social media posts, graphics, and videos have become popular marketing content within collegiate athletics, the effectiveness of promoting individual student-athletes via profile stories has not yet been fully explored. Thus, inspired by the NCAA’s annual Division III Week and based on information collected from online sources and a personal interview with Bowling Green State University Assistant AD for Strategic Communications Vincent Briedis, the author of this project formulated a marketing plan utilizing 10 student-athlete profile stories to enhance promotional efforts at ONU. Since the full scope of online engagement metrics are not currently available to ONU, the results of this project are inconclusive in terms of raw engagement numbers. However, the feedback the author received about this endeavor was overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating that there is certainly a place for this type of content within collegiate sports marketing.

Advisor

Dr. Ray Schneider

Second Reader

Dr. Sungho Cho

Semester

Spring

Year

2022

Degree

M.Ed.

Program

Sport Administration

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