Collegiate Athletics
Our Collegiate Athletics Services Include:
Why Universities Choose Navigate
As a dedicated advisor to the nation’s top collegiate institutions, we’ve helped over 30 universities — including 18 in the Power 5 conferences — through some of their largest and most complex deals.
They trust us when it matters most. Why? Because we have the track record to prove it.
By leveraging our data-driven approach to market research and consulting, our clients average 60% more revenue from multimedia rights deals than their peers. We’ve used the same strategy to deliver impactful results on naming rights, apparel deals and campus-wide partnerships, too.
But, we know revenue isn’t the only priority. Your university has its own specific objectives, each with their own dynamic challenges. Our team works to understand your stakeholders’ motivations, incentives and obstacles so that we can provide actionable insights and recommendations that point you in the right direction.
At Navigate, we know every school has a unique story to tell. Using custom market research, we produce data-driven narratives to showcase a university and its athletic department’s greatests strengths. These stories not only fuel marketing campaigns and strategic initiatives, but also drive revenue by providing useful insights into ticketing, development and sponsorship.
Putting Confidence in Your Conference
Conference expansion, media rights, scheduling strategies — you name it. We’ve worked with four of the Power 5 conferences to provide data-driven answers to their most pressing questions.
Along the way, we’ve grown to understand the nuanced complexities of operating a major athletic conference. Because there are so many key stakeholders, all with their own interests, it’s challenging to make decisions where everyone can benefit.
We tailor our reporting in a concise, digestible way that’s designed and customized for each of the conference’s diverse audience members: the commissioner, conference staff, university presidents and their athletic directors. With value-rich information in hand, conference leaders can make their biggest decisions with complete clarity and confidence.
Conference Media Rights
Media rights deals are once-in-a-decade decisions with enormous ripple effects — the weight of which can drastically impact revenue and fan exposure for years to come.
In moments like these, conferences require the utmost degree of certainty that they’re getting the best deal possible. That’s when it pays to have the data, support and guidance in your corner.
Navigate brings together primary research, secondary research and industry expertise to map out your media rights options and chart your path to success. As your trusted advisor, we help you call the shots using predictive analytics. These tailor-made insights will help you understand whether the deal is good today and if it will be years into the future.
Multimedia Rights and Apparel Deals
Multimillion dollar negotiations aren’t to be taken lightly. But, as an administrator, you already have a lot on your plate. From fundraising and ticketing to marketing and more, you simply don’t have the time or resources to focus on the financial complexities that come with a multimedia rights and apparel deal.
As a strategic advisor, we become an indispensable teammate and a crucial resource in these make-or-break moments. We start by helping you understand the value of your multimedia rights, enabling you to maximize your sponsorable assets’ potential. Our team then takes financial modeling off your hands and so that you can understand your options.
We continue to support you through the negotiation. This includes bringing bidders to the table, creating decision trees, leading your negotiating strategy and ultimately advising on partner selection and the contract details.
At Navigate, we know there’s nothing simple about this process. We’re here to take care of everything behind the scenes while you focus on day-to-day operations and leading the negotiations.
Sponsorship Valuation
Sponsorship deals are key to university revenue and fan exposure. But, you could be leaving money on the table if you’re not careful. We help you learn more about your biggest deals to reach the best possible outcome for your institution.
Using our proprietary valuation methodology — the gold standard in the industry, trusted by Fortune 500 brands, sports teams in every major league and dozens of universities — we produce a Fair Market Value that is an accurate appraisal of the sponsorship within the marketplace. Think of us as your go-to source of clarity and confidence.
We also layer on insights about why a sponsorship is valuable and how specific factors could push its value up or down.
Through white space analysis, Navigate helps you understand your sponsorship gaps to see where you can optimize your portfolio, but we don’t stop at possibilities. We build a package around your sponsorable assets that showcases exactly how they would drive revenue.
Ticketing
Ticketing at the collegiate level has its own unique obstacles compared to professional sports:
- How do you balance fan and donor satisfaction?
- Will you increase your student section and sacrifice profit?
- How will you meet your fundraising goals?
- What can be done to create a pipeline of alumni donors?
With questions like these, developing a ticketing strategy isn’t easy — but Navigate’s here to help. We manage all aspects of what drives a successful ticketing strategy, including:
- Price-demand elasticity studies
- Analyses to inform the right quantity and mix of premium seating experiences
- Deep-dives into each ticket tier’s motivators and barriers, including season tickets and alternative ticket-buying packages
- Research to inform targeted marketing strategies aimed at each segment of your fanbase
Whatever information you need to optimize ticket sales, we can help.
Fans
Sports have a unique ability to connect diverse groups of people in support of a common cause — especially at the collegiate level.
It’s an open secret that college sports fans are passionate about their favorite schools. But, with fan behaviors changing and alternative entertainment options increasing all the time, keeping them engaged has never been more difficult.
Let us help you tackle this challenge. At Navigate, we empower you to engage your most valuable asset and take fan satisfaction to the next level.
Our team helps you understand your market, alumni, students and fanbase. Together, we create a roadmap to guide your marketing, ticketing, development and guest service strategies and foster the next generation of loyal fans.
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