How college football programs like Ohio State draw attention for other endeavors.
The football game is the entertainment, the game is the draw. But if you think a sports program (say, the Ohio State Buckeyes) is only about playing football, you’re not paying attention.
Think about the gear: the shirts, jerseys, hats. Think about the food and everything else sold by locally-owned establishments both inside and outside the stadium. Think about the endowment and the fundraising. Think about total economic impact.
I don’t mean that sports are mercenary in a negative sense, that it’s only about making money. Far from it. I mean that each team is the center of a community and supports the livelihood of many people. There’s the direct economic component, and then there’s networking, relationships, history, stories… This is what I mean by more than a game.
Some college football programs like Ohio State, and others including Texas, Michigan, Penn State, Southern Cal, Clemson, and so on, take it to another level. Others, like the College of Charleston, Boise State, and so on, do the same thing but on a scale that works for them. The point is it’s not an accident; the schools use sports to draw people in, to create that community, that economic activity, that opportunity for the schools to do more and be more than they otherwise would have.
Quality content—a football game well-played—draws people in for so much more.
Makes you wonder, as an entrepreneur or business leader, how can you get people to pay attention so you can ask them to chat, ask them to stay, ask them for business?
Need help creating content that generates attention? Let’s chat.
Oh and please check out our SportsEpreneur podcast. You can listen on Apple Podcasts or even right on our website.