1U.S. College Sports

Insights by Repucom

U.S. COLLEGE SPORTS

Insights into the dynamic commercial environment of intercollegiate athletics in the United States

Insights by Repucom

The college sports landscape in the United States is a unique cultural and sporting phenomenon.

No other country in the world has the level of participation, fandom and financial support of intercollegiate athletics. This, Repucom’s first U.S. College Sports insight report, provides both contextual background for the global sports marketing community while revealing commercially relevant insights that will be of particular interest to brands and rights holders in the United States.

The past decade has been one of enormous financial growth for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), college athletics conferences and top-tier athletics programs. The emergence of numerous sports networks on cable and satellite television has opened a door for new multimedia rights deals and sponsor involvement. Controversy has accompanied the growth, and we have utilized our well-established research tools to explore public opinions about topical issues in U.S. college sports.

College athletics offers a desirable platform for brands trying to reach an affluent, loyal audience, and many corporations are smartly taking notice. U.S. college sports fans often have a personal attachment to a team because they are alumni, parents or local community members. They earn more income than the general American public, and they are more likely to consider a brand based on sponsorship.

The research presented focuses primarily on NCAA Division I men’s basketball and football because these two sports represent the largest sponsorship platform.

U.S. college sports are at a pivotal point as the authorities deal with the traditional structure of college sports in a now dynamic commercial environment that sees the status quo challenged on multiple fronts.

At Repucom some of our most in-demand research is in the college sports area, and this interest is coming from rights holders, brands, agencies and broadcasters – all looking to drive future decisions based on reliable data and associated insights.

We hope that you find this report both informative and thought provoking.

Paul SmithFounder and CEO, Repucom

WELCOME

Insights by Repucom

02 I U.S. COLLEGE SPORTS 101

03 I U.S. COLLEGE SPORTS TODAY AND BEYOND

04 I POPULARITY

06 I REVENUE SOURCES

08 I SPONSORSHIP College Basketball College Football Uniform and Equipment Suppliers

13 I THE FANS Brand Consideration Loyalty and Passion

16 I THE PLAYERS

17 I THE COACHES Mike Krzyzewski Nick Saban

18 I LOOKING AHEAD

18 I YOUR EXPERTS

All monetary values are in U.S. Dollars. Conversion rates April 2015 €1.00 = U.S. $1.10

CONTENTS

2U.S. College Sports

Copyright © 2015 Repucom

U.S. COLLEGE SPORTS 101This U.S. College Sports insight report will reach a broad, global audience with varying degrees of familiarity with intercollegiate athletics. The following are some fundamental terms that will be referenced throughout.

NCAA National Collegiate Athletic AssociationOrganization that regulates college sports in the U.S.

DIVISION I Highest level of intercollegiate competition Universities are categorized into divisions based on school size, athletic department budget, quality of facilities and scholarship availability.

FBSFootball Bowl SubdivisionDivision I is further subdivided in college football with FBS being the highest level of play.

POWER FIVE The five wealthiest conferences for intercollegiate competition: Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference (SEC)These conferences became subject to a special NCAA governance model in 2015 that allows more autonomy over rules and regulations.

ELIGIBILITYIn order for students to participate in NCAA competition, they need to meet minimum academic requirements and be certified as amateur athletes. NCAA rules forbid student athletes from receiving salaries or prize money from professional teams or selling autographed memorabilia.

4U.S. College Sports

While intercollegiate athletic competition exists around the world, nowhere does it have the level of participation and popularity than in the United States. Each year, more than 460,000 men and women compete in 23 different sports at nearly 1,100 colleges and universities in the U.S., according to the NCAA.

POPULARITY

COLLEGE SPORTS POPULARITY BY U.S. REGION

The southern U.S. has the biggest college sports fan base. College sports are especially popular in states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina and South Dakota where NFL and NBA franchises don’t exist. Overall, college sports are more accessible to fans than professional sports, with competition taking place in every state in multiple regions.

1 NFL Super Bowl

2 Olympic Games (Summer)

3 Olympic Games (Winter)

4 MLB World Series

5 College Football Championship

6 College Football Playoffs

7 Daytona 500

8 NbA FINALS

9 NCAA March Madness

10 Kentucky Derby

TOP 10 “CAN’T MISS” SPORTING EVENTS

Interest in the marquee college football and basketball events is strong, with three earning top 10 “can’t miss” sporting event designations. More than half of the U.S. adults surveyed in SponsorLink named the College Football Championship game, the College Football Playoff and the NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness as “can’t miss” sporting events in 2015.

73.9%

62.5%

62.1%

57.8 %

54.7%

53.9%

53.5%

53.2%

52.2%

52.2%

22% WEST

22% MIDWEST

40% SOUTH

16% NORTHEAST

TOP 5 LARGEST U.S. SPORT FAN BASES

The popularity of NCAA college football and men’s basketball is on par with professional sports in the United States. College sports occupy two of the top five largest fan bases, with college football drawing more fans than the National Basketball Association.

Based on Repucom’s monthly sports tracker SponsorLink, which surveys 1,000 nationally representative 18+ adults in the U.S. each month, the following numbers can be extrapolated. Each respondent is asked to rate his or her fan avidity toward a variety of sports and leagues on a 0-10 scale, with 10 being a die-hard fan and 0 not a fan at all. Anyone scoring 2-10 on that scale is considered a fan.

1 NFL professional football

2 MLB professional baseball

3 NCAA college football

4 NBA professional basketball

5 NCAA men’s college basketball

169.3M

147.6M

143.5M

129.3M

126.0M

10U.S. College Sports

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MARCH MADNESS CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

COLLEGE BASKETBALLAccording to the NCAA, total Division I game attendance for men’s basketball was just over 25 million in 2014. Syracuse had the largest overall season attendance with average individual game attendance of more than 26,000 people. Two schools have owned the title of “attendance champions” for a season since 1977 – Syracuse and Kentucky.

NCAA March Madness, which is composed of conference tournaments and culminates with the NCAA Championship, draws the attention of everyone ranging from game experts to armchair fans to individuals who don’t follow college basketball at all but want to partake in an office or family bracket competition.

The power of March Madness to bring together a myriad of individuals is what produces immense on-screen exposure value for brands associated with tournament games. In the case of sponsor Buffalo Wild Wings, this power has even led to an augmentation of stock performance. Shares of the Minneapolis-based chain restaurant, which has strong advertising and activation presence during the tournament, have outperformed the S&P 500 Index by an average of 5.8 percentage points each March in the past 10 years.

The NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament appears on CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV and ESPN International. Having every game aired on national television has heightened viewership of the tournament. Just a few years ago, there was only one game being televised at a time, with a regional game of choice being shown. Nielsen reported that 21.2 million people watched the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game, 18% higher than game five of the NBA Finals when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat to win their fifth NBA Championship. The Final Four broadcasts earned more than $15.6 million of in-game media value for sponsors in 2014.

MEDIA VALUE FOR NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL FINAL FOUR

$10.3m Championship

Kentucky vs. Connecticut

$2.1mSemifinal

Connecticut vs. Florida

$3.2mSemifinal

Wisconsin vs. Kentucky

tota

l$ 15.6

m76M

19M31M

ADULTS FOLLOW MARCH MADNESS

ON LAPTOP/DESKTOP

ON TABLETON SMARTPHONE

50M

13U.S. College Sports

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FAN AVIDITY

THE

FANS

More likely to take

action after seeing a

sponsorship

More likely to

create and respond

to content on

social media

College sports fans are a desirable audience for many reasons. The combination of buying power and sponsor loyalty is attractive for corporate sponsors. College sports fans are more likely to have earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree and have a 9% higher average income than the general public.

Repucom found the overlap between college sports fans and professional golf fans is as high as 90%, signifying the affluence of the college sports fan base compared to the general population and to NFL and NBA fans.

College basketball and football fans have a unique ethnicity breakout versus other sports in that they over-index in being African American and Asian or Pacific Islander versus the general population and professional sports fans.

Nearly half of all college football fans consider themselves avid, while roughly 4 out of 10 college basketball fans are avid. The levels of fan avidity for college basketball fans are nearly identical to those of the NBA. However, there is a significant difference between the levels of college football fans and NFL fans. While 48% of college football are avid, 70% of NFL fans identify themselves as avid.

61%male

39%female

9%average

higher income

34%More likely to be

college graduates

than the general population and

overall sports fans

more likely to

own a business

than general population

COLLEGE SPORTS FANS

More ethnically

diverse

32%

48%

20%LOW LOW

AVIDAVID

MODERATE MODERATE

23%

34%

43%

COLLEGE FOOTBALL COLLEGE BASKETBALL

CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLEGE SPORTS AS DESCRIBED BY FANS

The attributes that fans most associate with college sports are very similar to their professional counterparts; however, “youthful,” “inspirational” and “community-minded” are more likely to be associated with college sports versus the pros.

Community-minded

EntertainingAmerican

Youthful

FunTraditional

Family-oriented

Passionate

Cool

Multicultural

Dyna

mic Inspirational

15U.S. College Sports

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6UNIVERSITY OF

OREGON

SOCIAL MEDIA RANKING

5UNIVERSITY OF

ALABAMA

3UNIVERSITY OF

TEXAS

2UNIVERSITY OF

FLORIDA

4UNIVERSITY OF

NORTH CAROLINA

9UNIVERSITY OF

KENTUCKY

10MICHIGAN STATE

UNIVERSITY

8UNIVERSITY OF

NEBRASKA

Ohio State University won the NCAA Football Championship in 2015 and also wins the social media popularity contest. Ohio State has more combined Facebook and Twitter followers than any other college athletics department, with more than two million Facebook fans alone.

SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIACollege sports fans are heavy users of social media and more likely to visit YouTube and Twitter than the general adult public. Facebook is the most popular social media channel among college sports fans with 74% usage.

The value of digital and social exposure through college sports is just beginning to be realized. Looking at one post from March 8 that contained an athlete image with the Nike “swoosh” front and center, it would generate approximately $6,250 in Media Value per day, or $2.275 million per year, if posted daily on Ohio State Athletics’ Facebook and Twitter accounts and on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

1OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

LOYALTY AND PASSIONCollege sports fan loyalty is something that comes through in traditions of various campuses. On the Duke University campus in Durham, North Carolina, students set up Krzyzewskiville, named in honor of the head basketball coach. They camp out for hours, even the night before games featuring arch rival University of North Carolina. Wake Forest University students “roll the quad” to celebrate big wins, tossing streams of toilet paper into the trees. Texas A&M has even trademarked its “12th Man” tradition. The entire student body stands throughout football games to show their “readiness, desire and enthusiasm” to join the 11 players on the field if needed.

7UNIVERSITY OF

WISCONSIN

19U.S. College Sports

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20U.S. College Sports

Copyright © 2015 Repucom

Repucom is a leading global marketing research company providing data, insights and intelligence to clients in every area of sports marketing, sports media and sponsorship.

We understand the DNA of sports fans–what they hear and see, how they react and how their behavior changes over time. This knowledge is at the heart of making great marketing

and sponsorship decisions in a crowded and increasingly costly market. Repucom has 1,400 employees in over 20 offices around the world.

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