Marquette Athletics
Creating a Winning Strategy Around Student Attendance
Real Problem
Wanted: A Better Home Court Advantage. Marquette University’s athletic department has been grappling with low student attendance at its women’s volleyball and basketball games, despite the programs’ notable success over the years. Engaging students and fostering lifelong fans has been a persistent challenge for the department. To address this issue, our team was commissioned to develop innovative and impactful strategies that will entice students to attend games regularly and develop a lasting affinity for these programs.
Solution
Creating a Winning Strategy Around Student Attendance. We partnered to conduct a research project aimed at analyzing attendance trends to inform future marketing efforts. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape, our research used a mix of surveys, focus groups, interviews and data analysis, with over 200 participants including students, staff and national sports leaders. Based on our findings, we developed a series of recommendations to help inform targeted marketing and outreach efforts, including creating a #1 fan group (“Iggy’s Nest”) and residence hall competitions based on attendance. Overall, our research provided valuable insights that were used to create informed recommendations for increasing attendance and engagement.
“Go Marquette” Video: Our team produced this hype video to show our support for the 2022-23 men’s and women’s basketball teams during the NCAA Tournament. Footage was captured on National Marquette Day 2023. Student associates led all filming, editing and production.