JOURNAL OF BUSINESS DIVERSITY

Improving College Football Attendance with Demographic Analysis: Understanding the Importance of Benchmarking in Sport Marketing

Author(s): Oscar McKnight, Ronald Paugh, Jamie Waltz, Elena Kirkbride

Citation: Oscar McKnight, Ronald Paugh, Jamie Waltz, Elena Kirkbride, (2016) "Improving College Football Attendance with Demographic Analysis: Understanding the Importance of Benchmarking in Sport Marketing," Journal of Business Diversity, Vol. 16, Iss. 1, pp. 86-94

Article Type: Research paper

Publisher: North American Business Press

Abstract:

The popularity of American football in the United States is undeniable. This study examined the relationship between specific university characteristics influencing football attendance and found that basic demographic variables accounted for a significant amount of variance when predicting attendance. Findings indicate that D1institutions have the propensity to attract a larger attendance ratio when correcting for enrollment size; winning will increase attendance ratios; there is a significant positive relationship between attendance ratio and university graduation percentage, and marketers can now identify benchmark institutions with attendance ratios that are greater than expected. Introduced is 68 BIG WINS – a sport marketing strategy.