Loyola Basketball Marketing Plan

Group 1:Sean Baker

Jamie GorczynskiFrederick SchubertRutger van Wesel

Sean Murphy

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Table of Contents

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Loyola Basketball Marketing Plan

I. Executive Summary

Loyola College, located in Baltimore, Maryland, was founded in 1852 as a Jesuit

Catholic university. The college enrolls approximately 3,418 full-time undergraduate

students and 2,656 graduate students, and offers eight men’s and eight women’s athletic

teams, which compete at the NCAA Division 1 level. The Loyola College Greyhounds

men’s basketball team is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)

and is led by third year head coach Scott Hicks. The team is comprised of a thirteen-

player roster including four freshman, five sophomores, three juniors, and one senior.

The Greyhounds men’s basketball team plays its home games in the 3,000 seat Reitz

Arena, which is located in the center region of the Loyola College campus.

During the 2001-2002 season the men’s basketball team achieved an overall

record of 5-23 and a 4-14 record during MAAC league play. The Greyhound’s record for

home games at Reitz Arena during the 2001-2002 season was 2-9, which included a 2-6

record during MAAC league play and a 0-3 record during non-conference games. For

the 2002-2003 season, the team is scheduled to play thirteen home games, of which eight

are conference games. In the preseason MAAC Coaches Poll, the Greyhounds were

selected to finish last out of ten teams.

According to the Office of Academic Affairs for Student-Athletes, “it is the

educational mission of Loyola College to challenge students to learn, lead and serve in a

diverse and changing world. Loyola has always been devoted not only to the

transmission of knowledge but also to the development of mind and character.” With

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regards to the college’s athletics program, “the college has maintained a reputation of

athletic success and academic integrity that has become a model for institutions of similar

size throughout the United States.” Reverend Harold J. Ridley, President, heads Loyola

College, while the Athletic Department is under the direction of Mr. Joseph Boylan.

Head men’s basketball coach Scott Hicks, who retains ultimate responsibility for the

performance of the team, is supported by assistant coaches Byron Thorne, Karl Radday,

and Brian Murphy.

Due to the relative poor performance of the basketball team over the past few

years as well as ineffective promotional efforts, fan support/turnout during home games

at Reitz Arena has been weak. Attendance for eleven home games during the 2001-2002

basketball season averaged 580 spectators per game, compared to an average of 2112

spectators per game for away games.

II. The Challenge

The primary challenge being addressed is the development of a feasible, adaptable

plan to increase fan turnout, and revive enthusiasm and support for the Loyola College

Greyhounds men’s basketball team.

III. Situation Analysis

Team Analysis

The Loyola College Greyhounds men’s basketball team competes at the NCAA

Division 1 level, and is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Loyola’s

conference opponents include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College,

Manhattan College, Marist College, Niagara University, Rider University, St. Peter’s

College, and Siena College. The team is under the direction of head coach Scott Hicks,

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as well as assistant coaches Byron Thorne, Karl Radday, and Brian Murphy, and is

comprised of a thirteen player roster including:

1. Lindbergh Chatman (Jr., F)2. Luscious Jordan (So., G)3. Charlie Bell (Fr., G)4. Donovan Thomas (Jr., F)5. Bernard Allen (So., F)6. Bobby Bossman (Fr., G/F)7. Ryan Dickey (Jr., G)8. Sean Corrigan (So., F/C)9. Linton Hinds (Fr., G)10. Irakli Nijaradze (So., C)11. Delonnie Southall (Sr., F)12. Jim Chivers (So., F)13. Josko Alujevic (Fr., F)

The basketball team had an overall record of 5-23 during the 2001-2002 season,

which included a 4-14 record against MAAC league opponents. The team’s record

placed them ninth in MAAC standings out of ten teams, a position which it has held for

the past four seasons. At Reitz Arena, the Greyhounds were 2-9 during the 2001-2002

season, going 2-6 in conference games. Due in part to the Greyhound’s poor overall

record, and equally poor home record, the team drew, on average, only 580 spectators

during eleven home games last season. During the 2002-2003 season, the team is

scheduled to play eight conference games and five non-conference games at Reitz Arena.

Despite Loyola’s poor record the past few seasons the team has a number of

strengths going into this season that should help in achieving a greater record and

attracting a greater home fan presence. First, while still relatively young, many team

members head into this year with a greater level of maturity and experience playing at the

college level, including Luscious Jordan, Donovan Thomas, Bernard Allen, and Irakli

Nijaradze. Second, despite the poor record last season, the level of confidence should be

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greater because of contending in a number of close games. For example, the Greyhounds

led at halftime in five out of their fourteen league losses, and were within five points

during the final ten minutes in four other league losses. Third, after losing starting point

guard Damien Jenifer to graduation and shooting guard B.J. Davis to transfer, Coach

Hicks recruited a strong freshman class including shooting guard Bobby Bossman,

point/shooting guard Charlie Bell, point guard Linton Hinds, and forward Josko Alujevic.

The basketball team has a number of weaknesses that could hurt its chances

during the 2002-2003 season as well. First, despite Loyola’s perceived strengths, the

team was chosen to finish last by a preseason MAAC Coaches Poll. Second, fan

support/attendance, which is crucial during close games, has been poor the past few

seasons. Third, despite the added maturity, the team is still relatively young and

unproven. Nine out of thirteen players are either in their freshman or sophomore years,

and only one player is in his final year of eligibility. Each of these three factors could

contribute to a poor performance this season and continue to negatively effect fan

support/turnout.

Although the Greyhound’s record has been poor the past few seasons, the

college’s program has achieved success in the past and is looking to return to that glory.

During the 1993-1994 season, the Loyola College Greyhound’s upset Manhattan College

in the MAAC title game, and earned a bid in the NCAA Championships.

Customer Analysis

As previously stated, fan attendance for games at Reitz Arena during the 2001-

2002 season averaged only 580 spectators per game, compared to an average fan

attendance for away games of 2112 spectators. In addition, the average number of fans in

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attendance for home games represented less than one fifth (19.3%) of the total occupancy

of Reitz Arena. These figures are especially troubling considering the number of Loyola

College undergraduate and graduate students, the number of faculty, administrative, and

support staff, as well as the number of Loyola Alumni living in the state of Maryland.

Loyola College has a total of 3,418 full-time undergraduates, 2, 656 full-time graduate

students, and 848 faculty, administrative, and support personnel. In addition, sixty-two

percent of the college’s 40,862 or approximately 25,335 alumni live in Maryland. That

makes for a total of 32,227 individuals associated with the college that are available to

attend Greyhound men’s basketball games.

Discounting the number of alumni that live in Maryland, still leaves a total of

6,074 full-time students and 848 employees available to attend basketball games. The

average of 580 attendants is less than nine percent (8.4%) of the total population of

individuals who are either students or employees of the college. Considering that

students are admitted free of charge, employees receive two tickets free of charge to each

home game, and tickets to the general public are either $8 or $5 depending on seat

preference, the percentage of actual attendees from potential attendees is extremely poor.

Reasons for individuals not attending basketball games include personal reasons,

prior commitments, college related work, indifference due to poor record, and a lack

knowledge regarding schedule information. The two most likely reasons for low

attendance, in order of importance, are the lack of knowledge regarding schedule

information and indifference due to the team’s poor record. Measures need to be taken to

increase the number of fans in attendance regardless of the success or failure of the

basketball team itself.

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Competitor Analysis

Competition can be thought of as any better use of an individual’s time, as

perceived by that individual, and not merely an alternate athletic event. Fan attendance

for Loyola College Greyhounds men’s basketball games is under intense competition

from a number of different alternatives including, but not limited to, prior commitments,

college related work or activities, and alternate athletic events. Some alternatives are

purely unavoidable, while others may be purely preferential. Those alternatives that are

unavoidable are much more likely to prohibit fan attendance than are preferential

alternatives. For example, a student with an extremely important paper due the following

day may not be able to afford the time spent attending a basketball game. Alternatively, a

student who chooses to watch a game televised on ESPN is fully exercising his/her free

judgment not to attend.

In addition, Loyola men’s basketball faces considerable competition from

alternate athletic events. Various other colleges and universities in Baltimore and the

surrounding areas, such as Towson and Johns Hopkins, have athletic events that coincide

with those of Loyola College. Also, in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas there

are a number of professional and minor league teams whose seasons coincide with the

collegiate basketball season including the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins,

Washington Wizards, and the Washington Capitals.

With the diversity of the support base, i.e. students, faculty, administrators, and

staff, as well as alumni, the Loyola men’s basketball team faces considerable competition

for fan support/attendance. However, an effective plan aimed towards awareness could

invigorate support and dramatically increase attendance figures.

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PEST Analysis

A PEST Analysis looks at the different factors in an organization’s environment,

which includes political and legal, economic, social and cultural, and technological

environments. The climates that surround Loyola College men’s basketball directly are

the social and cultural, and the technological environments. The others do not really play

a major role.

The social and cultural environment involves many things, including their desire

to distribute tickets to the student body. This is Loyola’s main concern. Students are the

number one market for them. However, sales are down because students do not have the

desire to go to home games. Loyola must also try to get alumni involved in ticket

purchases. This applies to the high number of local alumni as well as alumni out of state.

They must create a need for alumni to come back to school and attend a game. Outside

of past students and current students, Loyola must also look at senior citizens and youth

groups in the area. A major player in ticket sales would be the youth groups and local

schools. If any of the kids on these teams have a desire of someday playing Division I

basketball, the opportunity is there for them to see what it is like and what to work for.

By offering ticket sales to groups like these, they are increasing their chances of someday

landing a couple of these kids to play for them.

The technological environment surrounding Loyola would be their giveaways of

prizes during games, and the different contests at halftime. Loyola must keep up with the

current trends in men’s college basketball, such as media guides, viewing of games on

television, and broadcasting over the Internet and the radio. They should benchmark

other schools for advice on how to get people to buy tickets and keep buying them, and to

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create awareness to them. Most importantly for Loyola to do during their campaign is to

promote fun for the people. They need to create an atmosphere where the buyer wants to

keep coming back.

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT Analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the

organization’s resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it

operates. It helps determine their internal and external environments when looking at

their strategy for planning. The SWOT Analysis looks internally at the organization’s

strengths and weaknesses, and it looks externally at the environmental opportunities and

threats.

Loyola College men’s basketball has many organizational strengths surrounding

them. First, they are a diverse team in a diverse city. Many of their players come from

all over the U.S., including Maryland. However, some of their players are from outside

of the U.S. This gives people the chance to see how basketball is played here, but also

how the game is played in other parts of the world. They offer state of the art training

facilities with their arena and Fitness and Aquatic Center. A strong characteristic is their

teams and players from the past. Some of the players have gone on to professional

basketball here and over seas. Past teams have won MAAC Championships, and have

even competed in the NCAA tournament, which is always good exposure no matter what

happens. Even though those days of championships and NCAA appearances have come

and gone, Loyola sees a need to get back to where they should be. The force behind their

desire to get back on top is the strong alumni and Loyola’s determined athletic

department. Members who play a vital role in this include Joe Boylan, Dave Gerrity, and

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Marty Kelly to name a few. Joe Boylan and Dave Gerrity carry with them a list of

experiences, including trips to the NCAA tournament in both basketball and soccer. The

Loyola College name and reputation alone is a major strength. People know of Loyola

and will recognize the name, and associate it with good things, thus contributing to ticket

sales. They have a strong base of local schools in which they can target for more ticket

sales. These schools look at Loyola as a Division I basketball team with potential. If

they come to watch a game, who knows, they could end up playing here someday

because of their experience. Loyola offers so much to ticket buyers and fans, including

radio and Internet broadcasts, ticket packages, contests and giveaways, shuttle services

for parking, dining services, etc. These contribute to fan conveniences and overall fan

experiences. Loyola College has a chance to make a name for themselves when they face

in-state University of Maryland, last season’s NCAA Champions. This should bring

about recognition for the school and basketball program if they can compete. Since the

game is being televised, fans all over will get to see what they have to offer. Their

schedule is also a major part in selling tickets. Fans want to see good teams and good

players, and Loyola faces these types throughout the year, especially with previously

mentioned Maryland, and Iona College, who has been to the NCAA tournament. One

huge contributor to ticket sales that Loyola is looking into is a “21 Club”, which would

be a place on campus for students and alumni to purchase alcohol and share in a

conversation.

Along with Loyola’s many strengths come organizational weaknesses. One of

these weaknesses is the small television market for college basketball besides U of M.

People in the viewing area can watch “The Best of Baltimore” tournament, but not any

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other of Loyola’s games, except reruns, which are broadcasted late at night. Another

weakness is that when people come to watch games they have to put up with the stress of

parking. There is not much parking on campus as it is, but when there might be a big

turnout, there will be a problem with parking. Fans want to park as close as possible, but

really cannot get it here. Due to Loyola’s losing record the past couple seasons, they

have no real fan base to support their players. No matter what anyone says, the number

one ticket seller is a team that wins games. If they lose games, they lose fans and ticket

sales. Sad to say, but that is the way it is in any level of sports. People want to see a win

and if they know there isn’t one, then they will not attend. Some important weaknesses

that could be turned into strengths right away would be easier recruiting standards that

would allow better players to have the chance to play here and more importantly, get an

education from here. They need to have a blue chip athlete. Players sell tickets. If they

get a big name recruit or transfer, then they might start selling more tickets. Another

option would be to get a big name coach. When Bobby Knight was looking for a place to

coach, it would not have hurt to go shopping for someone like him to get some attention.

By hiring him, Texas Tech saw dramatic increases in ticket sales, and the same would

work anywhere. Some minor weaknesses that Loyola has include the absence of a pep

band. Most big schools have them and students love them. They help to create a certain

atmosphere that is needed at college level games. Pep bands help to get the crowd into

the game and by doing that; the players will want to play better. Teams need the support

of their home fans, and that is not present here at Loyola. Strength of schedule and times

of games is another weakness that Loyola has. They play in a weak conference. Some of

the times of games and days of games are not convenient for some people. However, a

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major weakness that Loyola has is the non-existence of a place to gather on campus to

drink. Loyola is looking into it, but in the time being, is losing out to the competitor.

This is a major expense for a school, but in turn is a major revenue maker. Other schools

draw crowds full of students because there is a place to gather before, during, and after

games. Loyola needs to do something like this soon if they want to gain the student

body’s awareness.

Aside from internal strengths and weaknesses, there are also external

opportunities and threats looming over an organization like Loyola College men’s

basketball. Environmental opportunities for Loyola basketball include their potential to

be dominant in a weak conference. Any one of the teams in the MAAC could win the

conference championship. For the most part, all the teams are pretty even with one

another. Loyola needs to take advantage of this, and eventually they will become a

contender. Winning teams sell tickets. Another opportunity is the MAAC conference’s

automatic bid to the NCAA East Regional Championship. No other conferences offer

such an amenity in college basketball. With Baltimore being a major city, Loyola could

use that to their advantage when drawing outsiders into the area. Alumni coming in for

the weekend or during the week for business could enjoy all that Baltimore has to offer

since rebuilding, and stopping by their alma mater for a basketball game. If seeing what

they like in town and at school, they might tell friends here or outside of Baltimore to

stop and see a game or two, or they might even make a return trip to see them play.

Where there are opportunities, there are also threats. Everyone in any business has

them. There is no escaping them, but there is the chance of reducing them.

Environmental threats facing Loyola include the diversity of the demographics in the

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population surrounding campus. It is tough for them to please everyone, but need to find

a balance where all people feel welcome to attend games. People need to feel safe when

going to watch a game, and with the encompassing area, Loyola does not really have that.

Unfortunately, one of the highest crime rate areas borders campus and people look at that

as a means of not attending games. Another threat that in turn is an opportunity (depends

on how it is used) would be the city of Baltimore. There is so much going on downtown,

including restaurants, malls, waterfront, bars, museums, etc. that it is tough to compete

with it. Another competitor not far away is Washington, D.C. and the Washington

Wizards. Wherever Michael Jordan goes, people go. In a way, he and his team draw

fans away from Loyola. Along with the Wizards is the Maryland Terrapins. Most people

would much rather go watch a pro team or a championship quality team than a mediocre

team. That goes with having good players and winning games, which eventually lead to

winning seasons and increased ticket sales. Other threats include people’s perceptions of

basketball in general due to the falling reputation of the NBA. Stories of players being

arrested and so on have an affect on the whole game and present basketball with a

negative view. An immediate threat to Loyola would be the closeness of other colleges

and high schools. People in the area might go see them because they are better or are

closer or even cheaper. The list goes on for almost every category.

An organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats play vital role

in their position in the market. Some of these are direct and some are indirect and will

always be present. For an organization to be successful, they must stop trying to

eliminate, but rather go with what works and try to cut down on the negative affects that

surround them and their products.

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IV. Market Segmentation

Description

The sports marketplace is very segmented making it difficult to create a single

profile of the sports consumer. “The consumer profile varies by sport, by place of

residence, by life situation, and by a host of other factors” (Mullin 103). The consumer

profile of a potential Loyola Basketball ticket holder also varies greatly. We knew that in

order to develop a successful marketing plan, we would have to segment our market and

determine whom our product would be targeted to.

Current Market

Current consumers of tickets to Loyola basketball games include;

undergraduate/graduate students, alumni, faculty, administrative and support personnel,

and people from the surrounding area. The possibility of creating a large fan base does

exist, but the average attendance rate is low at approximately 580 people per home game.

Average attendance at away games is almost four times this amount, but this has nothing

to do with the drawing power of Loyola basketball.

Target Market

The best way to increase attendance at Loyola basketball games is to start with the

students. They are the most easily identified of all the possible consumer segments.

Their size and purchasing power are substantial. There are 3,418 full-time

undergraduates, and 2,656 graduate students. They are also the easiest to access of all the

possible segments. With every student having a GroupWise e-mail account, and access

to the phone-mail bulletin system, this segment is the easiest and most cost effective to

reach in terms of promotions. Approximately 75% of students reside on campus, which

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makes the opportunities to promote the basketball games to students almost endless. The

most difficult part of gauging the student segment is knowing whether or not they will

respond to promotional efforts, and whether it is worthwhile to satisfy the needs/wants of

the students in order to persuade them to attend games. The students at Loyola do seem

to respond to promotional efforts. For example, Loyola hosted their first ever Midnight

Madness for the basketball team. Although the event was not heavily promoted, the

turnout was substantial for a first time event. Satisfying the needs/wants is definitely

worthwhile to the college as a whole. An increase in school spirit and unity would

without a doubt be a positive influence on the campus.

Consumer’s State of Being/Mind

The most important demographics to consider are the age, income, and geography

of our target market. Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation play little to no role

in effecting whether or not a potential consumer buys a ticket to a basketball game. The

age of our target market is somewhere between 18-25. Therefore, if we wish to increase

ticket sales we must meet certain entertainment wants of this age group. One way that

Loyola has been thinking about satisfying these needs/wants is the establishment of a “21

club” where students could mingle with alumni and faculty before games in a lounge

setting, and have the ability to purchase alcoholic beverages. This is a definite step in the

right direction, and a must if Loyola wishes to maximize the potential of ticket sales

amongst students. The income of a student is typically low. However, tickets to Loyola

basketball games are free. This is a practice that Loyola should continue to implement

until they build a solid fan base. Loyola students are somewhat diverse, and come from

all over the United States, as well as from a few foreign countries. This is irrelevant to

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ticket sales however since during the school year, when the basketball season takes place,

75% of students live on campus, and the others live in the surrounding area. This is a

positive for ticket sales since students are easily accessed.

The current state of mind that students have towards the Loyola basketball

program is generally very low. Students are displeased with the quality of performance

that the team has shown over the last couple of years. In order to increase ticket sales, as

well as school spirit, the school must invest more time, effort, and money into the

basketball program. The best way to generate a solid fan base is to start with the team. If

the team is successful, people will buy tickets, even without promotional efforts.

Product Usage/Benefits

Students wish to use the basketball games as a form of entertainment. They see

basketball fans such as the “Cameron Crazies” and they wish to emulate them since they

seem to be having so much fun. The typical Loyola student attends Loyola basketball

games at a very low frequency. In fact, there are many students that will not attend one

game during their entire time with the college. To increase ticket sales, Loyola needs to

allow consumers to consume at more levels. For instance, they could produce

tremendous amounts of revenue by selling alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages, food, t-

shirts, shorts, hats and other types of merchandise. If the team performs poorly, the

college needs to find another way of making the event entertaining.

The potential benefits of forming a solid fan base are staggering. Top-notch

Division One basketball programs such as Duke and North Carolina make staggering

amounts of revenue through their solid, and loyal fan bases. Other benefits that Loyola

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would see if they were able to form a solid fan base would be an increase in school spirit,

something in which Loyola is in desperate need.

V. Alternative Market Strategies

In choosing our market strategy, we realized that all potential market segments

are important. In fact, the strategy that we chose touches upon almost all the segment

possibilities. However, we realized that the first step in creating a solid fan base starts

with the students. The other segments were not as easily identified, accessed, or

influenced as the students. One segment considered was the alumnus. Although this

group was the largest segment, we felt that the accessibility and responsiveness of this

group was too low and would cost too much money to pursue. The next possible

segment that we could have targeted the main focus of our plan toward would be the

faculty, administrative, and support personnel. This segment was too small to meet our

desired results, and we felt that the state of mind of this segment would lead to a lack of

response. The final segment that we considered was the surrounding communities. This

segment is very large and has a lot of potential, but we felt that the only way to reach this

segment is to have a winning basketball team, and that promotional efforts would be

useless.

VI. Selected Marketing Strategy

We have been discussing a multitude of strategies and ideas with the focus of

increasing attendance at the Loyola College’s Men’s Basketball games. With a further

analysis into our dilemma of increasing attendance at the basketball games, we have

overlooked a much broader topic that if addressed, we feel will have not only have a

profound affect on the basketball attendance but also on other events on campus

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including both athletic as well as non-athletic. There is an abundance of Loyola College

alumni who live in the area of the college. The area around the college is an area that

encompasses the college so as to be within driving distance. With that said, we feel that

the college lacks a draw for alumni to come back to campus.

Looking at other schools in the area, we see that they all have restaurants and bars

that the schools can call their own. At Georgetown University in Washington D.C., they

have a bar/restaurant known as the “Tombs.” This restaurant is a huge draw for alumni,

current students, parents, friends, and local residents around the college. It provides an

atmosphere that possess and prompt a lot of school spirit. Another example is Towson

University and “Bill Bateman’s” restaurant. Within these restaurants, people can meet

after work, class, for dinner, etc. To combat this issue, we propose Loyola College to

construct a bar/restaurant on campus. We even went further to think of the aesthetics

within the bar restaurant. Well with “Curley Field” in the process of being phased out,

we still have the enchanting evergreen campus. We suggest Loyola build a “sky-bar.”

This “sky-bar,” will an overlook into the campus and a solid wall to Govans, students,

faculty, alumni, etc. can enjoy one another’s company over a good meal and drink. This

bar/restaurant would be packed with Loyola Athletic apparel as well as televisions, which

will broadcast the games.

With the existence of the “sky-bar” or “crow’s nest” alumni, students, faculty,

etc., would have a reason to stay around campus after work and class. Once we have

their attention we can get the people to stick around for on-campus activities, specifically,

the Men’s basketball games.

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Other areas of change or improvement that are proposed include the enhancing of

the environment within the Reitz Arena. The implementation of powerful announcers,

strobe lights, smoke, etc, would create a fun atmosphere that would pull people to come

to games again and again. Another addition to the current marketing plan would be the

“21 Club.” The “21 Club” would be a relaxed atmosphere where students, faculty,

alumni, etc. could socialize in a “cocktail hour” prior to basketball games. This would

not only increase the fan base of the Men’s Basketball program but would also further the

bond between students, teachers, Jesuits, alumni, etc. These plans would increase the

school spirit that Loyola College so desperately needs.

VII. Short and Long Term Projections

We expect that our selected strategy would show immediate results. We feel that

over one season, our ideas will bring Reitz Arena from being almost completely empty to

absolute full capacity. Basketball games will become an event that every student will

wish to attend. If the students do not attend the game, they will at least be forced to

recognize the presence of the event on campus. However, the popularity of going to the

games will only last so long unless other needs are met.

In the long-term, Loyola must form a team that is competitive within the MAAC

conference. They must continue to improve their strength of schedule and face quality

opponents such as Maryland. The root of the problem of low ticket sales and lack of

school spirit lies primarily with the performance of the team. Winning seasons are

necessary for the foundation of pride and school spirit. If Loyola is able to form a

successful team the possibilities are endless. If they are able to create an atmosphere

where fans want to be, and form a winning team in which students can take pride in,

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Loyola will surely find themselves at the top, as far as revenue, and school spirit is

concerned.

VIII. Conclusion

Loyola has an opportunity to improve its reputation tremendously with the

formation of a competitive basketball program, and an entertaining environment for

students. Although the competition that exists within the sports entertainment industry in

the Baltimore area is intense, the implementation of our marketing strategy will achieve

results. Providing an entertaining atmosphere for students, alumni, faculty, etc. would be

a major step in the right direction for not only Loyola’s basketball program, but for the

school in general. School spirit would increase, and as a result a variety of the dominant

attitudes that currently exist on campus would change.

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Works Cited

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