The document is a case study focused on developing a student rewards program aimed at increasing student attendance at college basketball games, particularly at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). It reviews strategies employed by Kansas State University to boost attendance for non-marquee games and highlights the importance of student engagement through loyalty programs in light of declining attendance figures across NCAA Division I men's basketball. The case also discusses the impact of rivalries and various marketing techniques in encouraging student participation and event attendance.

1. CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Marketing the ‘Big Game’: Developing a Student Rewards
Program in College Basketball
INTRODUCTION:
In a paragraph or two, briefly explain what the case is about.
ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS:
1. Analyze a sport rivalry based on the elements presented in
the case. Use specific language from the case to frame your
thoughts.
2. The case mentions a few techniques to help “manufacture”
rivalry. Give examples of some of the techniques used and how
they can be used in the design and implementation of a rewards
program.
3. Do you believe a student loyalty program would work at your
Becker College? Why or why not? Likewise, what are the
unique challenges Becker may faces in developing a rewards
program?
4. Analyze a professional sports team using “Personal
Investment Theory.”
5. Mullin Chapter 8 outlines several sales tactics/methods.
Please discuss two. Likewise, which sales tactic/method are you
must receptive to when someone is attempting to sell you on a
product/service.
6. Sales is important to every sport organization. Please visit
any professional or college athletic website and finds someone
who works in sales (VP of Sales, VP of Corporate Sponsorship,
Associate Athletic Director of Development, etc.) biography

2. then discuss how the person’s current position and past
experience reflect sales experience. What have they done, what
does their job entail.
TAKE- AWAY
In a paragraph or two, briefly explain what you have learned.
· What are your major take-aways?
· What did you find most interesting and why?
· What surprised you and why?
· Was there something that didn't make sense?
· What would you like to learn more about and why?
Case Study
Marketing the ‘Big Game’: Developing a Student Rewards
Program in College Basketball
Nicholas was finally getting settled at his new job as assistant
director of marketing at the
University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). He believed his
degree and internship experience with
his alma mater's athletic department had prepared him well for
his new position. During his
interview he discovered that part of his job responsibilities
would include working on a task
force charged with developing marketing strategies to increase
student attendance at the
university's men's basketball games. The athletic department
had recently noticed a pattern
occurring with student attendance at home contests. They were
having difficulty "selling" the
allotment of free student tickets for games against weaker
opponents and lesser known non-
conference foes, which created a lackluster atmosphere and a

3. decrease in revenue potential. In
contrast, ticket allotments against strong conference opponents
like Brigham Young University
(BYU) and their long-time rival University of Nevada Reno
(UNR) were taken quickly, causing
many to be turned away because of the influx of student
support. The problem facing Nicholas
and the marketing department was how to generate an increased
level of response for non-
marquee games to help improve student attendance numbers
throughout the season.
The situation presented in this example is becoming
increasingly more common, especially in an
era when colleges and universities face the realities of rising
expenses and budget reductions.
The recent economic climate has placed significant pressure on
athletic departments to develop
more creative ways to generate revenue. For example, in 2009
the state funds provided to UNLV
athletics were reduced by $1.1 million, with each athletics team
being forced to cut between 10
and 12 percent from their operating budgets (Anderson, 2009).
The popular belief that all college
athletic departments generate large profits for their institutions
is misleading. The NCAA
reported in 2008, only 19 of the 119 schools in Division I
generated a profit. Of those 19 schools
the median positive net revenue was $4.3 million compared to
median negative net revenue of
approximately $8.9 million for institutions not generating a
profit (Fulks, 2008). In 2009, NCAA
Division I men's basketball set record highs for the total number
of teams competing and games
played, yet total attendance figures decreased compared to the
previous year. That same year, the

4. extremely popular NCAA Men's Basketball Championship
Tournament saw a total decline of
over 50,000 spectators compared to the 2008 attendance figures
(NCAA, 2009). A number of
factors may have contributed to these declining numbers
including an increase in media outlets
available, the economy, and the availability of other
entertainment options. Due to this dynamic
situation, increasing the attractiveness of sporting events and
maximizing revenues has become
vital to an athletic department's financial well-being.
Historically, men's basketball at UNLV has been successful and
the nickname "Runnin' Rebels"
is a source of pride for many UNLV students, alumni, and
community members. UNLV holds
the fourth-best winning percentage all-time among Division I
programs, including a national
championship in 1990. ESPN.com ranked UNLV as the 8th most
prestigious college basketball
program in the modern era (Shelton, Loucks, & Fallica, 2008).
Many of the accolades given to
the team reflect the period of time when they were coached by
Jerry Tarkanian. "Tark the
Shark," as he was affectionately called, led the "Runnin'
Rebels" from 1973-1992. After
Tarkanian left in 1992 the Rebels struggled to continue their
winning ways and went through a
number of coaches before finally finding success with the hire
of Lon Kruger in 2004. Kruger's
basketball knowledge and personality fit well with UNLV and
he soon reenergized a disgruntled
fan base. With the increase of success on the court came an

5. increase in attendance. UNLV's
arena, the Thomas & Mack Center, has a capacity of 18,776,
making it one of the largest college
basketball arenas in the country. In fact, UNLV averaged more
fans at its home conference
games in 2009 (15,121) than any arena in the PAC-10
conference even holds ("UNLV
Basketball," 2011). While those numbers are impressive,
UNLV's athletic department realized
that attracting more students to the games is important to the
financial health of the athletic
department.
Just as Nicholas was preparing his marketing research to help
with the issue of increasing student
attendance for next season a blow struck the marketing
department that they believed would
most likely affect the attendance forecasts for next season. In
early April of 2011 Lon Kruger
announced he would be leaving UNLV to take the head
coaching job at the University of
Oklahoma. The potential impact of this news made Nicholas's
marketing goal even more
difficult, so he decided to contact a friend at Kansas State
University (K-State) who had helped
to implement a student rewards program for men's basketball a
few years earlier. K-State had
dealt with similar issues involving fluctuations in student
attendance and he felt his friend could
provide helpful insight into developing a similar program
during this transition time at UNLV.
Nicholas was anxious to hear about the issues K-State faced in
creating their student rewards
program and the results it had in increasing attendance. He
listened closely as his friend
explained K-State's marketing strategy.

6. Kansas State Student Rewards Program
Prior to the start of the 2009-2010 men's basketball season, K-
State's athletic department was
approached by members of the student government association
with an idea to help address
issues surrounding the pre-game line-up procedures, especially
for marquee games, such as the
in-state rivalry game, known as the "Sunflower Showdown,"
against the University of Kansas
(KU). In the past, a "first come, first serve" policy had been
utilized for game admittance. Once
fans were granted access into the arena and the gates where
opened it frequently caused an
unsafe environment with fans rushing to get prime seating in the
general admission student area.
While sport marketers dream of customers with this level of
devotion and passion, the problem
K-State faced was twofold: fan safety and how to sustain a
consistently high number of students
for non-marquee games. While student support and fan
attendance historically created sell-out
crowds for games against rival KU, the ticket sales for "lesser"
games differed considerably at
the box office. During the 2008 season a random lottery system
was used as a way to improve
entrance procedures for the KU game. This lottery system
offended loyal students who had come
early to ensure preferred seating. As a result, there was concern
that the process compromised
customer service and could impact loyalty.
A solution to this problem was the development of the men's
basketball rewards program prior to
the 2009-2010 season, which was "intended to encourage

7. student attendance at all home games
while creating a priority system for game-day lineup procedures
at Bramlage Coliseum (K-
State's home arena) for the Kansas game" (Kansas State, 2009).
The concept of facilitating a
rewards program is not unique to sports and has been used
successfully in other industries to
influence consumption and repeated use. The best known
examples of businesses using reward
programs include frequent-flier programs used by airlines,
frequent guest promotions offered by
hotels, and frequent-shopper programs offered by supermarkets
(Kim, Shi, & Srinivasan 2001).
A number of schools have used reward programs in the past;
however, it became apparent to the
K-State athletic department that the significance of the game
against Kansas could be used as a
motivator to encourage students to attend the nine home games
leading up to the KU game.
While rewards programs are not always exclusive to a specific
segment, such as a student body,
K-State decided to offer the program only to students. The
students were encouraged to sign-up
in groups consisting of two to 10 people. The total program
consisted of 999 groups with 3,324
students registered. It was the belief of the athletic department
that having students register in
groups would encourage the entire group to attend games. The
students were rewarded a point
for each home game they attended. The average number of
games attended by the members of
the registered groups determined their place in line for the

8. historically sold-out KU contest. The
announcement of this program was done through a campus-wide
email. An initial email was sent
in early November alerting students of the new program; then
again in mid-November reminding
students that registration was opening. A reminder email was
sent two times during the season to
encourage additional students to register. A press release was
issued when the program was
announced, accompanied by an article in the student newspaper
describing how the program
would work. Student ticket accounts were tied to the student's
identification number. Students
submitted their group name, names of group members, and
student identification numbers of
each student. Students needed to use their tickets and actually
attend the game in order to receive
credit. The information was stored in a Microsoft Access
database and individual game
information was tracked using Paciolan ticketing software.
Following the game leading up to the
KU game, the ticket office created a report of every student who
had attended games and which
games they attended. The Access database was then exported to
Excel, and the average number
of games per group was calculated. All the members of the
groups that had attended all nine
games were the first to be allowed access into the arena,
followed by groups whose members had
attended eight, and so on.
The K-State men's basketball student rewards program template
became popular and the
following year was expanded to other sports including women's
basketball, volleyball and
baseball. As for men's basketball, the initial season of using the

9. rewards program successfully
achieved the goal of increasing attendance for the nine games
prior to the in-state "Sunflower
Showdown" rivalry game. As shown in Table 1, the percentage
of 2009-2010 student tickets
used for the nine games leading up to the game with the
Jayhawks, compared to 2008-2009
numbers, increased by an average of 18.2%. Kansas State also
saw an average increase of 1,246
students per game for each of the nine home games leading up
to the KU game. Table 2 shows
this positive increase comparing the 2009-2010 season with the
2008-2009, which did not utilize
a rewards program.
Nicholas was grateful to hear the background of a well-executed
rewards program that is still
being used. He hoped a similar idea would work at UNLV. He
was intrigued by how K-State
marketed their rivalry with KU as the cornerstone of the loyalty
rewards program and wondered
what other factors impact motivation to attend games. He also
knew he would need to support
his proposal with marketing research to convince the athletic
department administration to move
forward with the idea. Nicholas decided that in order to create a
well-rounded proposal he would
need to find more information on rivalries and factors that
influence motivation to attend games.
Marketing a Rivalry
Before understanding the impact rivalries play in sport

10. consumer motivation it is first necessary
to distinguish the terms spectator and fan as they may be vital
to the success of a marketing
campaign (Trail, Robinson, Dick, & Gillentine, 2003). Many
researchers have studied the factors
that differentiate fans and spectators (Funk & James, 2001;
Trail et al., 2003; Wann &
Branscombe, 1990) including Sloan (1989), who explained that
spectators merely observe or
watch a game while fans do so because they are engaged on a
deeper level. Marketing plans need
to focus on maintaining positive connections with the highly
identified fans as well as
uncovering motivating factors for the less interested spectators
(Trail et al., 2003). Promoting a
rivalry is one way through which sport marketers can increase
consumer interest and
involvement among both fans and spectators (Rein, Kotler, &
Shields, 2006).
The understanding of how a rivalry impacts a person's
perception of an event is important
because it can have an effect on sport consumption. As
Armstrong (2007) explained, "it is
therefore likely that the frequency in which an individual
attends a particular sport event is
dependent upon the manner in which the event is perceived to
be a symbolic activity" (p. 115).
Many collegiate team rivalry games are given unique titles
(e.g., The Sunflower Showdown) to
distinguish them from "just another game" and increase their
symbolic meaning. It has also been
suggested that rival teams' marketing departments may want to
work together and promote
upcoming matchups to increase the connections that each fan
base has with the team (Luellen &

11. Wann, 2010).
While rivalries traditionally grow and evolve over time, specific
elements can be highlighted to
promote or "manufacture" potential rivalries. Rein et al. (2006)
explained a few rivalry features
that can be exploited to encourage greater consumer
involvement, "There are geographical
(Florida-Florida State), personality (Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe
Bryant), institutional (Midland Lee-
Odessa Permian), historical (Auburn-Alabama), class (Lazio-
Roma), and incident (Little Brown
Jug, Michigan-Minnesota) rivalries" (p. 260). Using one or any
combination of these rivalry
features can assist an organization in highlighting rival salience
[i.e., the awareness of a specific
rival group or team, as defined by Wann (2006)] and
encouraging greater involvement among
both the spectator and fan base.
Mueller and Sutherland (2010) showed how another rival
feature, heroes vs. villains, could
improve marketing results. More specifically they believe that,
"one of the most effective
methods for achieving increased involvement is through the
development of a sport as a
landscape of heroes and villains, where fans can create meaning
and attachment within the
consumer experience" (p. 23). Basic conflict is easily positioned
within the context of sport. The
authors explain that both fans and spectators can easily relate to
the traditional good vs. evil
storyline. A rivalry creates distinct groups (us vs. them) which
help to increase the value placed
on a specific game. It would be wise for a marketing department
to promote the us vs. them

12. storylines in an attempt to encourage a rivalry situation.
Over its existence UNLV has had many heated contests with a
number of schools but no
university has played a more "villain" role than the UNR. There
is a mutual dislike between the
athletic programs of the two schools. In football, the rivalry
game is called "The Battle of The
Fremont Cannon," named after the famous Nevadan trailblazer,
John Fremont. The winner of the
game wins the rights to the cannon. The rivalry was originally
established due to the geographic
considerations of the schools and now encompasses many
deeply rooted stereotypes based on the
two cities and each university's culture. Adding to this rivalry is
the fact that UNR will be joining
the same conference as UNLV, the Mountain West Conference,
starting in 2012.
Motivation
Although rivalry games can play an important role in creating
an exciting atmosphere, there are
many additional factors that need to be addressed in order to
develop an effective marketing
strategy. Extensive research has been done to explain the
motives that influence sport
consumption. Trail, Anderson and Fink (2000) explained that
most motives occur based on
social and psychological needs. According to Trail et al. (2000),
motives for sport attendance can
include achievement, acquisition of knowledge, aesthetics,
social interaction, drama/eustress,

13. escape, family, physical attractiveness of participants, and
physical skill of participants.
An example of research focusing specifically on motivation and
college student game attendance
studied four individual psychological factors (Swanson,
Gwinner, Larson, & Janda, 2003). The
authors explored the influence of an individual's team
identification, eustress, group affiliation,
and self-esteem enhancement on college student attendance and
word-of-mouth behavior. The
study's findings suggested that "when motivated by team
identification, group affiliation, and
self-esteem enhancement, there was a significant, direct
relationship with intent to attend
sporting events for both men and women" (p. 160). Other
research has examined spectator
motivation for women's professional soccer and found five
motivation characteristics of
spectator support including; sport interest, team interest,
vicarious achievement, role modeling,
and entertainment value (Funk, Mahony, & Ridinger, 2002).
James and Ross (2002) compared
consumers of major and minor league baseball and discovered
that the two groups had different
motives for attending games. Major League Baseball consumers
were interested in the drama of
the games and the skill of the players while minor league
attendees were motivated by the desire
to spend time with friends. The same authors examined motives
for non-revenue collegiate sports
and found participants scored general sport attributes such as
entertainment, skill, and drama
higher than motives dealing with self-definition and personal
benefits (James & Ross, 2004).

14. Personal Investment Theory
Maehr and Branskamp's (1986) personal investment theory
presents a relevant platform to
examine sport consumer motivation. Wann, Melnick, Russell,
and Pease (2001) and Wann,
Bayens, and Driver (2004) actually utilized personal investment
theory to analyze sport
consumption motives. Personal investment examines the course
of action rather than a specific
psychological state. The concept is one that can be reflected in
the degree of attraction one has
toward something, like attending a basketball game (Maehr &
Branskamp, 1986). Using this
theory the emphasis of the analysis is on something that is
"observable, objective, and
quantifiable" (Maehr & Branskamp, 1986, p. 9). A rewards
program allows an organization to
observe the attendance behaviors of a particular targeted
demographic. Personal investment
theory identifies three elements: perceived options, sense of
self, and personal incentives that are
needed to determine motivation and allows analysis of the
factors that go into a person's
decision-making process (Wann et al., 2001). Included in these
three dimensions are a number of
underlying motivational factors that influence how people spend
their time, money, and energy.
In order to apply these factors into marketing strategy it is
important to further explore the three
dimensions of personal investment theory.
Perceived Options

15. A person acts based on the options created or presented to them.
The availability and
acceptability of the option is a critical factor in determining
action (Maehr & Branskamp, 1986).
Therefore, in order to better understand the factors of
motivation in personal investment theory,
one first must start with understanding a person's perceived
options. For a UNLV student, a
number of different entertainment options abound. Las Vegas,
Nevada, where UNLV is located,
is an urban setting of roughly two million residents and is
known as "The entertainment capital
of the world," offering shows, clubs, restaurants, and a wide
range of other activities. Sport
events occur on a routine basis, ranging from highly visible
professional sport events to small,
less viable minor league and amateur contests. There are also
many outlets available to consume
sport indirectly, which can make the weighing of options even
more difficult. Future availability
also relates to the concept of perceived options. In the case of a
student rewards program, not
attending a game decreases the chances of being able to attend a
rivalry game or receive some
kind of reward. By connecting the student rewards program with
the highly attractive game or
reward it is possible to increase the perceived value of the
contests leading up that game.
Another factor in the discussion of perceived options is the
acceptability of the options. If an
event is seen as acceptable by a particular reference group the
option should appear as a more
attractive alternative than one that is not seen as acceptable.
Wakefield (1995) found that if an

16. individual's reference group approves of going to a game, the
game experience itself is perceived
more favorably. Therefore, if a college student's reference
group views attending a basketball
game as an acceptable and attractive option it will receive
precedence over less attractive
opinions and be judged more favorably. A rewards program
connects to this factor by
strengthening the allure of the games as it connects them to a
desirable outcome, such as
attending a rivalry game or receiving some type of reward.
Sense of Self
Another component in personal investment theory is the sense
of self or personal identity, which
as Wann et al. (2001) note, relates mostly to the concept of
team identification. Team
identification is one of the most important psychological factors
affecting attendance. A strong
sense of self and connection to a team should make individuals
more inclined toward investing
themselves in attending games (Maehr & Branskamp, 1986).
Fans or those who are more deeply
engaged with a team than a less involved spectator will view the
team as an extension of
themselves (Wann et al., 2001). Team identification is often
expressed by the phenomenon of
basking in reflected glory (BIRG) or publicly announcing one's
affiliation with a team.
Connecting a rewards program as part of the "team experience"
should help to strengthen team
identification for those who are already fans as well as those
with a lower degree of

17. identification.
Personal Incentives
Personal incentives include the reasons for an individual to
initially become a spectator/fan or
decide to continue to attend sporting events. Task incentives
relate to the certain aspect of the
sport or contest that attracts students to games (Wann et al.,
2001). UNLV fans express a strong
preference to attend the UNR game because of the history
between the two schools and the state
"bragging rights" associated with the contest. Ego incentives are
an intrinsic element that
motivates fans to attend games. The student body at UNLV
prides itself on creating an
intimidating atmosphere for opposing teams, which may create a
sense of pride for students who
feel they play a role in causing an opposing team to perform
below their potential.
The social factor of the personal incentive element may be the
most important factor in the
success of a student rewards program as it addresses
fans'/spectators' desire to attend an event to
socially engage with others. As suggested by Swanson et al.
(2003), teams should provide
opportunities for social interaction to increase camaraderie.
Encouraging students to register in
groups for the rewards program helps to emphasize attending
sporting events because of their
social nature. Reward programs are structured so that all
members of the group must attend each
game in order for the other members to receive credit and
benefits for attending. This creates

18. pressure on the students to organize and connect with members
of the group for each of the
games, creating social interaction that is often missing with
other marketing strategies, such as
promotional giveaways. The social aspect of attending games
would also have an influence on
less committed spectators who want to be involved in a group.
This strategy supports the
suggestion offered by Wakefield (1995), who noted, "from a
more general marketing standpoint,
if team and league managements are concerned about raising
attendance levels, they must
attempt to raise the levels of social acceptance of going to the
game for various light-attending
segments" (p. 348).
Conclusion
In order to execute a successful rewards program it is important
to address the factors
influencing motivation as well as the three dimensions of
personal investment theory. Based on
the information provided, three guidelines have been created to
help in the development and
implementation of a rewards program:
Guideline #1. Supplemental marketing strategies need to be
designed and executed in order to
increase the attractiveness of an event or reward program.
Having a rewards program in place is not enough to attract fans,
especially if the outcome reward
does not appeal to the customer segment you are targeting.
Additional marketing activities need
to be implemented to enhance appeal. Giveaways, half-time
entertainment, and in-game

19. promotions are some ways in which to strengthen the allure of a
rewards program.
Guideline #2. Marketing activities should be aimed at
developing stronger connections with the
team.
When implementing marketing strategies in conjunction with a
rewards program it is important
to make sure they are used in a way to help form stronger
connections to the team. A strong
focus on customer service is essential to developing these bonds
and building trust with
consumers. Steps should be taken to make sure all customer
service elements are given the
highest priority. In addition, highlighting unique qualities of a
team and promoting rivalries
could also be used to strengthen fan-team connections.
Guideline #3. Marketing campaigns should emphasize the social
aspects of attending an event.
The social aspect of a rewards program should be highlighted
and promoted. People should be
encouraged to come in groups and promotions aimed at unifying
a fan base should be
implemented. An example of the social element that has become
more common at sporting
events is "White Outs," where fans are encouraged to wear
white t-shirts as a sign of unity.
Armed with a greater understanding of the motivation of sport
consumers and personal

20. investment theory, Nicholas realized he would need to answer
some questions before he could
successfully develop this rewards program. No issue was more
pressing than figuring out how to
structure the rewards program to make it most effective. In
order to do that, he needed to find the
best way to utilize UNLV's rivalry with UNR so as to maximize
the appeal of this program to
students. Would the notion of building upon a rivalry game
work at UNLV? Another question he
was contemplating was how to use personal investment theory
to generate higher levels of
commitment toward the rewards program. Also, besides the
rewards program, what other
strategies and tactics could he develop to increase the
connection with the student fan base?
Although the work involved with designing and implementing
this student rewards program
would be substantial, Nicholas couldn't wait to get the
basketball season started.