Why College Sports Marketing Fails Without On-Field Success
Tre’Jean Watkins
In this current era of NIL, schools nationwide have been tasked with finding new ways to attract donors and spenders.
In turn, that effort relies a lot more on marketing and selling the product you have on hand, in this case, major sports, which are the sellable assets.
Schools do everything from physical marketing tools like fliers and printouts, to digital marketing campaigns like video projects and athlete collaboration. These techniques have paid off for some, with a recent example of Tristen Keys, a 2026 blue-chip recruit who has caused quite a recruiting stir due to his collaboration with Adidas.
However, despite the plethora of techniques, marketing itself is pretty useless if results can’t match the hype marketing stirs can create.
Why Say This?
I say this because marketing becomes difficult if you lack juice, energy, or hype. Sure, there have been unique cases where bad to average programs have maintained heat due to marketing and tradition.
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville jumps off the page, same with Miami, Michigan, and Texas. A smaller example is Florida International University, which is a curious case of the positive impacts of NIL and excellent creatives leading the initiative.
But these are few in number, with most flailing programs struggling to give people a reason to care.
Most of these programs aren’t bulletproof. They don’t have tradition, rowdy fanbases, scenic locations, or trendy things to stand on. They have their flailing results and the negatives that come with them.
One such example is UCLA, a popular school in Los Angeles. It’s the largest university in Los Angeles by acre size and student body, yet its sporting programs feel like second fiddle to in-city rival USC.
Some of that is due to USC transforming its brand into one of the largest in college football, but a lot of it is due to UCLA simply not being good. UCLA’s football program has been a disaster for years now, and its basketball program — once known as a powerhouse program — has turned into a shell of itself due to years of ineptitude and failure.
To make matters worse, their football program plays at a stadium miles away from their campus, another reason this program is as dead as it is now.
What Can They Do?
What these programs can do to improve the bleak reality of marketing while being bad is..well, by winning.
You know the saying “winning cures all”? It rings true, very true, for sports worldwide, but especially for collegiate sports.
As we know, winning in collegiate sports is different. Alumni and traditions tied to our youthful days, cheering on our school, promote a weird set of memories we hold dear until we die. Schools take advantage of that by cozying up to alumni with big amounts of cash, encouraging them to become donors, or roping in brands to sponsor their endeavors.
It’s all one big cycle.
But that cycle is crucial for marketing purposes, as success and being in the spotlight entice new, cash-rich figures to throw their money at a product, all in hopes of seeing results in whatever sport they most desire.
It’s a weird thing, but it works a lot in this world. This is why universities have to focus on success and winning to take advantage of a better marketing landscape.
But if they can’t win, can’t succeed, then marketing appears to be useless.
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