Dear College Athletic Administrator,
A healthy, engaged student section can benefit a school’s athletic program in a host of real ways. But great student sections don’t happen by accident — they must be built.
As the leader in building robust student sections, I can attest that greatness depends on the following administrative actions:
1. Empower your staff to invest in student leaders
The student section may be part of your job description, but no administrator, marketer, or department can create a vibrant student section on their own. Greatness always rests in the hands of your students.
Administrators often limit student section growth by trying to maintain control, when they should be investing in a team of students to lead the charge. Students are always hungry for school spirit and a sense of belonging. And the legacy of an engaged student section provides lasting effects. So empower students to dream up engaging ideas and support them to carry them out. You’ll be building the kind of community and camaraderie that they (and you) want to see. And when you inevitably transition to your next opportunity, you’ll leave a legacy — not a void.
2. Cultivate in-game leadership and build internal systems
While status quo marketing strategies — free shirts, reward systems, etc. — might incentivize students to attend a game, they cannot inspire students to show up, dress up, stand up, and hype up a crowd of fellow students. They don’t foster culture. Student leaders generate organic momentum by attending games and energetically leading. But their responsibility doesn’t end there. They must be responsible for building internal systems that keep momentum going game-to-game and season-to-season.
As an administrator, offer support by helping them track and organize key elements — goal setting, leadership structure, culture building, branding and marketing, game day experience, revenue, retention and internal operations — and work together to build a well-oiled machine. Will you continue to use your budget on promos or build a system to create culture?
3. Secure buy-in from senior administration
No student section reaches its maximum potential without the support of senior administration. Student leaders and athletic marketers will be limited without top down, cross campus buy-in: collaboration between athletics, coaches, senior administration, enrollment, student leadership, event coordination, game operations, ticketing, etc. And that kind of collaboration doesn’t happen without support from school leadership.
As with all things athletics related, greatness requires time and effort — and many schools find themselves mired in mediocrity. It’s up to you to decide what kind of student section you’d like to build.
I urge you to choose greatness. Biggest Fan Consulting can help.
With sincere passion and gratitude,
Brandon Kaiser