Outline

I have a few concerns with my thesis, I know it may need to change and I'm still trying to figure out a better way to restate it for the conclusion paragraph. After further research and writing I will be able to reword it so it sums up my paper nicely. Also, the areas where I have quotations is the research I have done on the certain topic so far and what I really liked and want to go off of. I hope this is okay. I would love love love any feedback though because my writing skills and overall paper organization talent is not up to par. Thanks so much!


I. Introduction

A. Thesis- College sports marketing is comprised of three marketing objectives that the University of Texas Athletics captures in each Longhorn fan using various marketing techniques that vary among the men’s and women’s sports.

I. The three sports marketing objectives and how each relates to University of Texas Athletics.
II. Customer experiences based on each particular fan at sporting events: students, alumni, families, and corporate sponsors.
III. Men’s college sports marketing compared to women’s college sports marketing within the University of Texas Athletics Department.
IV. My recommendations and insights for overall college sports marketing at the University of Texas Athletics.

Body:

I. The three sports marketing objectives.

"Texas, long a marketing dynamo, is exploring its own TV network. A first for an individual school, it would fill a statewide cable channel and various Internet outlets with UT football, basketball and other sports."
"Since the beginning of 2007, a total of 37 schools have guaranteed themselves more than a combined $1.7 billion by bundling and selling their multimedia rights. On the other side, rights-holders such as IMG work to recoup their investment by making as many corporate sponsorship deals as allowed by the schools."

A. Marketing sports as entertainment. (1)

"Host Communications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bull Run Corporation and major player in the collegiate sports marketplace for 26 years, announced its line up of on- and off-campus marketing initiatives designed to promote college football in cities across the U.S. during the football season. Host produces, distributes and oversees advertising sales for these broadcasts. These four `kick off` games were broadcast to approximately 150 stations across the U.S., although more than 300 stations are expected to be on the network by the end of college football season."
"Our company remains dedicated to the college football fan and to delivering the best possible game `over the airwaves`. Our audience is those who hold a unique affinity for a particular school, and we’re committed to providing them with the highest quality of programming." (James Host, CEO of Host Communications, Inc.)

B. Building sport participation. (2)

"For college football fans who prefer to learn about their favorite team or NCAA Football over the Internet, Host has recently redesigned NCAA Football’s home web site, http://www.ncaafootball.net/, where students, fans and alumni can access the latest information about any of these national initiatives and site visits. "It’s second nature for us to want to better our collegiate initiatives year after year to reach as many people as possible. "We anticipate looking back at the end of the 2000-01 college football season feeling great about the programs we produced to bring more exposure to collegiate athletics and more fans to the games." (Host)

C. Marketing products and services through sports. (3)

“The NCAA insists college players not be used as sales tools, though the task force further recommends guidelines governing the use of their names and likenesses be loosened as long as it ‘does not portray the student-athlete in a manner as promoting or endorsing the sale or use of a commercial produce or service.’”
“The NCAA cleared the campaign, explaining it's not a Pontiac promotion but rather a big-play promotion that happens to be sponsored by Pontiac.”
“Video games are another concern. EA Sports' NCAA Football 09, for one, is licensed by the NCAA and prohibited from using current college players' names. But critics such as attorney Pete Rush maintain that stars' identities are scarcely hidden.”
He points to Florida's Tim Tebow, a senior-to-be who won football's Heisman Trophy in 2007 and helped the Gators to last season's national title. In the video game, Rush says, "The quarterback for the Florida Gators is left-handed (as Tebow is) and wears Tim Tebow's number ... and runs many of the same plays that Tim Tebow runs."
(However, I plan to alter this to describe how Vince Young was on the cover of video games after our Championship game.)

"Players, he says, already are sensitive to entrepreneurs co-opting their images for unlicensed T-shirts and posters, . He says he senses less concern about how far schools and the NCAA might take things and even opens the door to pulling athletes further into their commercial efforts. For a price, that is.” (Rush & Morgan)

II. Customer experiences based on identified market segment (various fans and attendees).

“Schools can't continue to raise ticket prices, particularly as fan and alumni bases are feeling their own economic pinch. Donors are squeezed, too. And universities are reluctant to further underwrite athletics when endowments and state appropriations are shrinking and overall budgets are being slashed.”
So programs have turned to emerging revenue sources such as stadium and arena signage, naming rights, trademark and licensing fees and digital media rights and advertising. “Brand first endorsed a more aggressive commercial approach three years ago and has made the issue a priority for the NCAA and schools. Sports is business, he says, and making money is part of it.” (NCAA President, Myles Brand)

A. Customer experiences for a Longhorn student or athlete.

“Part of the appeal of college sports (that's different) from the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA is the fact that the players are students in college. It draws a different kind of interest, a different kind of fan support.” (Morgan, Steve)

B. Customer experiences for Longhorn alumni

C. Customer experiences for families

D. Customer experiences for Corporate sponsors

"It's a contentious debate within the NCAA and its more than 300 Division I schools:
How far should the NCAA and its members go to boost revenue at a time when the nation's fiscal crisis is weighing on college athletics? “Many schools, with the blessing of NCAA President Myles Brand, are courting an increasingly varied array of sponsors and advertisers and creating some discomfort in the process.”

III. Women’s college sports marketing compared to Men’s college sports marketing.

A. Men’s marketing strategies
B. Women’s marketing strategies
C. Recommendations for improving/expanding current Longhorn women’s sports marketing.

IV. Recommendations and my insights for college sports marketing for the University of Texas Athletics.


Conclusion:

- Restate thesis: College sports marketing is comprised of three marketing objectives that the University of Texas Athletics captures in each Longhorn fan using various marketing techniques that vary among the men’s and women’s sports.

A. Learnings from this study
B. Re-examine my insights and recommendations
C. Application of overall customer insights with sports marketing at the University of Texas.