Athletics Should Adapt, Fund Winning Teams

Heading into the 2007-2008 academic year, the thought of a Columbia team heading to an NCAA Tournament was a popular idea. We all just had the wrong tournament and the wrong team.

Over the past two seasons, the Athletic Department has placed the majority of its marketing campaign on football and basketball—the two sports that generate the most revenue for the majority of college athletic programs around the nation. The opportunity to play in either the BCS or the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament attracts so much money from donors that athletics departments use those funds to pay for their other sports. In Columbia’s case, that burden was placed on the men’s basketball team as it was supposed to be “their year,” and as a result, more money was directed toward their campaign than any other.

But the Athletic Department should have been boasting about baseball instead. Under head coach Brett Boretti, the team is now on the verge of its first division title since the first year the Ivy League broke into the Gehrig and Rolfe divisions in 1993. Having split a two-game series with likely Rolfe Division winner Dartmouth in Hanover a few weeks ago, there is a distinct possibility that Columbia could win a three-game Ivy Championship series and take the Ancient Eight’s bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Doesn’t it then seem like a logical move to be playing up a team that was mired in mediocrity only a few seasons ago? Columbia has a two-game home series on Saturday against Penn that could see it capture the division, and there hasn’t even been mention of free transportation for students to see the teams compete. In addition, the Lions could be hosting the Ivy League playoff series—depending on how Dartmouth fares this weekend against red-hot Harvard that is following up a four-game winning streak. Hosting this kind of event could attract fans and, even more importantly, money from donors who see potential in funding a baseball program that exists under a noticeably talented recruiter with a substantial track record.

Maybe it’s time that the Athletic Department designed a new approach to its marketing strategy. While still placing the majority of the cash flow towards the revenue-driven men’s basketball and football programs, it would do the department well to move more of its capital toward promoting teams like baseball—and perhaps even the powerful heavyweight rowing program or our nationally ranked fencing program.

When the women’s soccer team made their appearance against the University of Connecticut in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the Athletic Department did provide a fan bus for students and alumni to attend the game in Storrs. More efforts like these can increase fan attendance as well as show an increased commitment to quality athletics throughout the program.

With the Department striving to meet its Columbia Campaign for Athletics goal, emphasizing teams that do compete well on both national and Ivy scales would likely produce better results in capital-raising efforts for future athletic projects. Many successful alumni have participated in these lesser-known sports at Columbia, but with the focus on football and basketball, they are left wondering about the welfare of the sport they once played. Simply highlighting the strengths of successful sports and providing current students with easier access to supporting their classmates could bring in donations at a faster pace simply by generating buzz about Columbia sports themselves.

Students and alumni want Columbia’s athletes to succeed on the field and there is no doubt that better facilities would likely bring in higher quality players. When a winning product appears where it wasn’t expected, adapting the current marketing strategy is a smart idea and the intangible benefits from doing so could bring about future success.