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Colleges and universities foster school spirit among students through intentional outreach and engagement strategies. The University of Missouri delivers a survey to sports events attendee to understand their experience, following trends among young respondents.
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Tailgating and cheering from the student section are hallmarks of the college experience in Hollywood films, but researchers have long been tracking a decline in student attendance at college football games.
Athletic events can promote school spirit, which is tied to retention and feelings of belonging among college students, which can in turn influence student completion and overall success. But getting students into the stands is one challenge for institutional leaders.
Inside Higher Ed compiled seven strategies colleges and universities have implemented to turn students into cheerleaders for their athletic teams.
What’s the sitch? Among college students who attend classes in person, 15 percent say they’ve never attended events on campus, according to Inside Higher Ed’s 2024 Student Voice survey, conducted by Generation Lab. This number grows to 27 percent of students learning online plus in person, and 56 percent among online-only learners.
A 2015 survey of students at 26 NCAA Division I schools (n=15,696) found ticket price was an important factor for attendance to football and basketball games, particularly for students who weren’t as passionate about the sport. Seat location and atmosphere (particularly if there were pregame festivities) were similarly important.
A 2018 student research paper from the University of Texas at Austin identified transportation as a barrier to participation, with sporting arenas located farther away on campus preventing student attendance.
The social aspect of sporting events was a theme identified in many research papers, and so turning athletic events into a popular and inviting space for all students to enjoy is critical.
The how-to:
- The University of Oklahoma’s fan engagement team focuses on awareness of events and getting players visible on campus to entice attendance at women’s volleyball matches, as reported by the OU Daily. One initiative, Digs for Donuts, had players take a volleyball around campus and invite students to pass the ball (called a dig in volleyball) and receive a pastry for successfully doing so. OU broke its student section record last September in a match against the University of Texas, with 695 students in attendance.
- In winter 2023, Lander University in South Carolina created an engagement strategy to promote attendance at the men’s and women’s basketball games, student affairs professionals shared in a presentation at the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students and Transition conference in February. At a Dec. 4 game, staff gave away 450 T-shirts, plus prizes and giveaways throughout the games to keep students engaged. Some students also received extra credit for attending the games. Over all, 1,200 students attended, breaking the university’s record for student attendance at a sporting event.
- Southern Illinois University has a registered student organization, the Dawg Pound, that leads student spirit events and traditions, particularly at basketball games. The group has grown over the past year, thanks in part to support from staff including sports coaches and fundraising efforts, the Springfield New-Leader reported.
- The University of Missouri has implemented frequent surveying of its sports event attendees to gauge what’s working well and what could be improved, which also helps the athletics staff identify trends among younger attendees and the current student population. Surveys are distributed after each home game for football and men’s and women’s basketball, with questions about various features—from concession stands and parking to scoreboard videos and game-time entertainment.
- Ithaca College revived a student rewards program for the 2024 spring semester that awards prizes to students who frequently attend home games. Each sport has a different point allocation that rewards attendance at less popular sports (such as golf, crew or tennis) with more points, but all sporting events are worth at least 20 points and some “Blue Crew Bashes” earn double points. Students can check their progress on a monthly leader board, and those in the top five are recognized at the end of the year.
- The University of Delaware created a $15,000 scholarship for students who attended all six home football games during the 2023–24 season. Students were automatically entered in a raffle by scanning their ticket at halftime.
- At the University of Minnesota, the student fan organization shifted focus to prioritize women’s sports, including adding chants, costumes and giveaways to increase student section attendance at both men’s and women’s events.
How is your institution encouraging school spirit at sporting events? Tell us more here.
