Aesthetics as a weapon

When you take your seat at your favorite college football stadium this fall, take a good look around you. What do you see?

Aside from the typical signs like bands blaring out the fight songs, cheerleaders leading the cheers, and fans decked out in their favorite team's garb, you'll also notice something that is quickly becoming the name of the game in college marketing.

If you're still a doubter that branding and marketing are not that important in college sports, just look down at the playing surface for your clues. It may be as simple as a multi-colored end zone line or as bold as a huge logo on the 50-yard line.

Sports are all about aesthetics these days and it's almost as important how your field looks on a nationally televised game as how your team plays.

Think about when someone mentions Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. One of the first things you'll here aside from the 100,000 plus seats is the orange and white checkerboard end zones. What about the Big House in Ann Arbor? Almost every college football fans can picture the banner hanging down that the Michigan players rise up to slap on their way out of the tunnel. Who can forget about Boise, Idaho. Is there a bigger statement than the blue turf?

Many of these things seem frivolous in the big scheme of things, but they equate to dollar signs for college merchandising and project an image to the throngs of recruits that the schools tout each year.

Yet, having said this, you will still find large holes in the marketing engine at big name schools. Big Ten teams like Purdue and Iowa must think the history of the old stadiums are enough to lure the eye because the lack of paint on the field is a marketing nightmare. It's almost like a help wanted ad screaming for either a qualified marketing director or for local painters.

Tradition has always been a part of college football and Ralphe running out on Folsum Field in Boulder or the Boomer Schooner in Norman are as much a part of the game as the Xs and Os. It's almost as if certain universities are conducting a course in aesthetics and everyone from the public address announcer to the groundskeeper are required to attend.

Still others decide that the college budget has too many limitations to justify such wasteful spending. Yet, I would challenge any coach that says it's the product that you put on the field that is more important as the uniform my kids wear or whether or not there is a logo at mid-field. It's the total package that may bring the best talent to your school and thus, turn the corner for your program.

I just wish someone would tell the marketing departments at schools like Iowa that paint on the field that actually shows up on ABC when the whole country is watching is a good thing for image. As much as they hate to admit it, this image branding is as much about money as an 11-1 record is.

There are exceptions to this rule. When your tradition is as enriched as Notre Dame or Penn State, you can get away with no paint on the field or the ugliest uniforms in college football. But, when you're trying to fight out of mediocrity each year, it is vital to project the marketing message to its fullest.

This fall, take a sample of the different stadium surfaces or the team's uniforms. Make a mental note of all of the tactics that are being made in the marketing arena. My guess is any school that isn't giving it's all will be evident very quickly.

How would you feel if you were a prize recruit trying to decide between multiple schools? Would you go to the paintless fields or the school where everyone is clamoring for the school's merchandise?

It may seem like little things, but it's the little things that count!