Stats Perform x FedEx Ground x FCS
The 6th Annual Awards
- Best College Sports Partnership
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Fans have traditionally found it tough to find quality media coverage of the NCAA’s second level of Division 1 Football, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Less media coverage means less visibility for the FCS. Greater challenges for its conferences to attract schools and its schools to attract top players and coaches. Lower merchandise and ticket sales. Lower TV rights. Lower sponsorships. Fewer opportunities to build bonds with FCS fans.
The partnership between FCS and Stats Perform was initiated to counter these visibility issues.
We increased the accessibility of engaging FCS content throughout the season—and the off-season—and launched new initiatives to boost FCS media coverage and popularity.
We attracted a major new corporate partner, FedEx Ground.
The partnership outperformed our wildest expectations.
And we learned something unexpected and invaluable that will benefit the wider sports ecosystem too.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
Alongside the digital initiatives, hitting the road to deliver awards in person and being face-to-face with the very people who make the FCS such a success reminded us about the value of staying connected to the fabric of sport in person.
We were also pleased to see the media cut-through obtained from our awards. The genesis of this idea was the success of our team and athlete rankings in other sports for Stats Perform clients. It’s fantastic to see the strategy work to generate attention and discussion for FCS.
A 900% uplift to nearly 18,000,000 media impressions across our combined initiatives is a result that shattered the ceiling of our partnership’s expectations, and those of our sponsor.
Perhaps most invaluably, we have had the opportunity to learn an enormous amount from working directly on growing audiences and attracting sponsors, instead of only supplying the materials for sports, publishers and broadcasters to do it themselves.
We hope this work inspires and reminds others in our industry to walk in their customers’ and partners’ shoes.
If growing sports’ relevance, its entertainment value and its meaningful connections to more fans is the ultimate aim, it is an invaluable approach to take.
Objective
In comparison to schools in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), it has traditionally been tough for fans to find quality media coverage of the NCAA’s other level of Division 1 Football, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Less media coverage means less visibility for the FCS. Greater challenges for its conferences to attract schools and its schools to attract top players and coaches. Lower merchandise and ticket sales. Lower TV rights. Lower sponsorships.
It also means fewer opportunities to build bonds with FCS fans.
And it means that incredible feats of athleticism, contests and performances can go un-noticed, weakening sport’s remarkable power to create positive memories and emotions.
The partnership between FCS and Stats Perform was initiated to counter the visibility issues across the FCS ecosystem.
In the 2022/23 season we began to prepare for a new era that championed FCS football and student athletes with new tactics and unprecedented passion.
Our goal was to increase the accessibility of engaging FCS content throughout the season—and the off-season—and launch new initiatives to boost FCS media coverage and popularity, celebrate unique achievements of FCS athletes and attract new corporate partners.
In the 2023/24 season we outperformed our wildest expectations.
Strategy & Execution
We had already supported FCS with their annual banquet, but knew that modern fans and sponsors expect year-round coverage. It was time for Stats Perform to apply its decades of sports content expertise to help deserving schools grow.
New tactics included the launch of a new national weekly FCS Podcast and YouTube channel, FCS Delivered, hosted by veteran FCS national writer Craig Haley and two-time Super Bowl-winning linebacker Gary Reasons, a three-time All-American on the FCS level.
We developed a new online destination for interactive stats and analysis of FCS and five different major awards for Players and Team of the Week, joining the Stats Perform National FCS Top 25 Poll.
We uncovered magic in the detail of the performances of FCS teams and players, celebrated new heroes and brought listeners, viewers and readers from across the collegiate fanscape closer to the games.
The new awards became popular ways for local and national media to discuss who is on the rise across the sport each week, and why.
Then we took it further, by sending Gary Reasons around the nation to make 12 on-campus presentations to award recipients—on camera, in person.
Organizations
- Stats Perform
- FedEx Ground
- Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
Links
Credits
Brian Orefice
VP U.S. Sports
Stats Perform
Brittany Steffen
Account Executive
Stats Perform
Craig Haley
Senior Editor
Stats Perform
Graham Bell
Senior Editor
Stats Perform
Kevin Chroust
Editor in Chief
Stats Perform
Matt Sisneros
Designer
Stats Perform
Stephanie Brown
Strategic Accounts Director
Stats Perform
Steve Xeller
Chief Revenue Officer
Stats Perform
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
