Understanding the brand equity of an intercollegiate athletic program

This research examines the relationship between collegiate sports fans and their favorite team. Using one intercollegiate athletic program as a lens, the author employs the Social Identity-Brand Equity Model created by Underwood, Bond and Baer (2001) and developed further by Boyle and Magnusson (2007). The model states that fans use certain marketplace characteristics to create a social identity with their favorite team, which in turn increases its brand equity. Students (n=130) responded to a questionnaire regarding their feelings toward their university's football team and athletics program in general. Certain marketplace characteristics were found to affect social identity differently, while the social identity of the university football program was discovered to positively impact the brand equity of the entire athletics department. There were also differences in how season ticket holders and non-season ticket holders formed social identity with the university football team. The study findings provide insight into understanding brand equity in sports and also raise important issues for marketers of intercollegiate athletics.