Going From “Aware” To “Care” Has Become A College Challenge…

A few weeks ago, on our podcast with Dave Clawson we talked about the steep learning curve the universities are on in terms of communications and storytelling tied to athletes and even coaches. Clawson pointed out that the professionalization brought forth by NIL, along with the transient nature of athletes due to the transfer portal has cause athletic departments a great deal of angst and uncertainty when it comes to things like promotion and storytelling, something which professional sports have understood and dealt with for years.

The example we raised this week is with short-term contracts and the trading deadline. In MLB for example, sure there are players who are rentals to finish out a season who are brought in for a short time. That does not stop teams from proactively promoting them on their channels, making sure they are valued by the organization and even are part of the programs off the field well after they are gone, even if it just for a few months. Once a Yankee or a Warrior, always a Yankee or a Warrior.  And while trades can happen at any time, and professional teams can build equity in promoting an athlete knowing there is a risk they may leave, that doesn’t mean they stop doing it. It is, and has always been, a certain amount of challenge when selecting which players, you bring to the consumers at what time. It isn’t done in a vacuum, it is done eyes wide open with the sporting staff, and if things have to pivot, they pivot.

In short, you have to promote the assets you have now, make sure that the consumers, casual or die hard, are aware of the stories on the roster and give them a reason to invest, understand, and CARE about those who are suiting up, be it for ten games or a career. The story is interesting, lets make sure people know. Build goodwill and equity in the assets you have, with the beauty of owned channels and social reaching interested parties in an instant.

That’s on the professional side. On the college side there seems to be a disconnect, and we did some digging and asking. What we found, which backs up Clawson’s thoughts, is that many schools, especially those deemed mid-majors, have backed off from storytelling or promoting many athletes for the fear they could be seen and will leave. What? In an era when it is almost impossible, good or bad, to hide success or even failure, hoping no one notices is such a tremendous disservice to the whole system, and is also counter to growing the opportunities for staff.

Most importantly, it gives those invested in your school, your sport, your program, less of a reason to CARE. I looked at several mid-major schools this week and can find little to nothing about athletes that have come to the school via the transfer portal. No backstories on their journey, no why they are there and on and on. What I was told more than once by individuals at schools ranging from the MAC to the a-10 is that o many of these athletes are here for such a short time the time to invest in telling their stories is too short, so it isn’t made.

Terrible but true. Not to make the effort to tell me about your seven transfers who I could maybe find a way to identify with, could maybe help find funds or programs, could maybe even help them stay for other reasons like post graduate jobs? Cmon.

Then I was told coaches, many of whom have a growing amount of say on promotion, don’t see value in storytelling. What again? Some have asked for rosters not to be made public for fear of being poached. Awful and a disservice to those who actually care. Ther is an assumption tat someone puts on a jersey for a school, and you root for the school. While maybe that is true to some extent, it is less true now than ever before. We follow the path of the individual, we want to learn all we can about the individual, and that builds affinity for the team. And some rightly believe that you are here for a semester or a year or two years, you are still part of us.   Clawson again mentioned on the pod that he drew a line in writing recommendations for players who were with him less than two years because he didn’t know them well enough, but an alum or a supporter can build a relationship off of one meeting or a few months of mentoring the person that can last a lifetime, not just for how long an athlete performs. How many scores of teachers over the years write letters or build bonds off of a class that lasts just a semester, why can’t that be true for an athlete who is there for a year and for whatever reason, moves on.

Now all of this is very fluid, and there are of course schools that realize the moment and build off it. St. John’s with the aura and influence of Rick Pitno for example, has awareness of athletes there today, who could be gone in a year. Vanderbilt invested in and kept Diego Pavia and helped build his story into one of the best of the year, and there are a good number of programs who get being in the moment and telling those stories, from Rutgers to Northwestern and beyond.

But to say, let’s not make the effort, let’s not use our tools, lets not tell these stories of these kids who are here today, even if they are gone tomorrow.

To paraphrase Dave Clawson, and others we spoke with, its unprofessional, and is a disservice to those who care, or would care, if they just knew the stories.

Whether this is evolutionary in how colleges go about telling their stories and brining value to those who can do the work remains to be seen, but for many schools today, they are not giving us enough, or any reason to care, and then everyone loses.