Congratulations to this top group of students in SpB 305: Sports Marketing at Northern Kentucky University! They gathered survey data and composed this presentation on potential rivals for NKU Athletics, which will join the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2012-13.

1. Nicole Gruen, Chris Hatter, Austin Kucera, Jack Marchetti, Brad Noe

2.  Involvement
 Who’s involved?
 Identification
 How do they identify?
 Creating Rivalry
 What makes a rivalry?
 Who do we suggest as an in-conference Rival?

3.  Convenience Sampling
 People who were easy to reach

4. Other
Fan 11%
3%
Alumni
9%
Faculty/Staff Students
18% 59%

5. 50%
Percent of Participants
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
18-22 23-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 or above
Age of Participants

6.  When we asked questions about involvement
we wanted to see a few things
 How many events were attended by our sample
group
 What is the best way to reach our sample group to
inform them about an event
 What factors influenced them to attend an event
 What factors influenced them NOT to attend an
event

7.  116 out of 208 (55%) of people surveyed have
attended at least one event in the past two
years
 64 out of 106 (60%) of males surveyed have
attended at least one event in the past two
years
 51 out of 102 (50%) of females surveyed have
attended at least one event in the past two
years

8. 60
50
40
(Percent)
30
Males
20 Females
10
0
0 1-3 4-10 11-19 20+
Games Attended

10.  Data we collected reveals most likely method
respondents hear about NKU events*:
 NKU website (76.7%)
 Posting a sign on campus (74.3%)
 Word of mouth via Friend (64.3%)
 Handing out Schedule Cards (61.4%)
* Percentages indicate portion of respondents that chose ‘somewhat
likely’, ‘likely’, or ‘very likely’; points 4-6 on six-point scale.

12.  The evidence shows that the main factors
that influenced a person to attend an event
were (checked ‘somewhat influential’ or greater):
 Free Ticket (73%)
 Fan of the Team (61%)
 Invited by friend(59%)

13. 26%
Yes
No
74%

15.  The evidence shows that the main factors
that influenced a person to attend an event
were (checked ‘somewhat influential’ or greater):
 Not a priority for my free time(70%)
 Lack of Interest in teams(50%)

16.  The main thing is make going to an event
worth a person’s time.
Not a Priority when spending Free time
Frequency Percent
Not at all Influential 10 10.6
Hardly any Influence 2 2.1
Moderate Influence 7 7.4
Somewhat Influential 16 17.0
Very Influential 27 28.7
Extremely Influential 32 34.0
Total 94 100.0
*94 is the number of people who have not attend a single event

17.  Passing out Schedule Cards
Schedule Cards
Frequency Percent
Very Unlikely 26 27.7
Unlikely 11 11.7
Somewhat Unlikely 9 9.6
Somewhat Likely 19 20.2
Likely 17 18.1
Very Likely 12 12.8
Total 94 100.0
*94 is the number of people who have not attend a single event

18.  Posting signs about an event around campus
Sign on campus
Frequency Percent
Very Unlikely 21 22.3
Unlikely 3 3.2
Somewhat Unlikely 6 6.4
Somewhat Likely 13 13.8
Likely 23 24.5
Very Likely 28 29.8
Total 94 100.0
*94 is the number of people who have not attend a single event

19.  Fan Identification is explained as how
“identified you are with a certain team”.
 This can be shown by your involvement with
that team such as going to games, or wearing
their apparel.
 It is also apparent in your language. Referring
to a team as “we” is a sign of strong
identification. (Basking in Reflective Glory)

23. 202 Respondents to the open-ended question:
“IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT
DEFINES A RIVALRY?”

24.  History
 Geography
 Highly Competitive/Parity
 Hatred/Strong Dislike
 Same Conference
 Frequency of Play

25.  Highly Competitive/Parity: 96
 Geography: 47
 History: 42
 Hatred/Strong Dislike: 21
 Frequency of Play: 11
 Same Conference: 7
*Coded data based on qualitative responses

26.  Highly Competitive + Geography: 22
 Highly Competitive + History: 20
 Geography + Conference: 5
 Geography + Frequency: 5
 Highly Competitive + Hatred: 5
*Coded data based on qualitative responses

27.  History between NKU and any of their new
conference counterparts in the Atlantic Sun?
 Atlantic Sun teams in relatively close
proximity to Highland Heights?
 Will we be competitive in this conference?
 Must develop strong fan identification with
NKU teams to create passion and strong
dislike of potential rivals in the conference

28. East Tennessee State University

29.  East Tennessee State University is who we
suggest for a rival because it is the closest
university that compares to us.
 It has an enrollment of 14,952 students where
NKU has an enrollment of 15,748 students.
 It is only 328 miles from NKU campus, so
traveling for big games would not be much of
a problem.

30.  It is located in Johnson, Tennessee which is a
city comparable to Highland Heights in size
and population.
 We compete in every sport they compete in.
 We both have excellent academic and athletic
reputations.
 2008 & 2010 ETSU men's basketball won back to
back A-Sun Championships
 2010 ETSU men’s soccer won an A-Sun
Championship

31.  ETSU student athletes have a over
cumulative GPA IS 3.21, I have found that
NKU has had a cumulative GPA of 3.25.
 They also have a rewards program called
Bucwild. Where you earn points by going to
athletic events. Just like our Norse Force.
 We are comparable is so many ways but the
one thing that makes us better is…
WE ARE NKU!!!

32.  Measured rivalry by identification and
involvement
 Need to move people further up the escalator
 Build awareness with NKU athletics
 This is only a suggestion for a rival, we feel
that a rivalry should happen organically