Creating a Competitive Edge: Why Fan and Athlete Alignment Is the Real Game-Changer

The business of college sports is evolving faster than most athletic departments can keep up. NIL deals, transfer portals, and revenue-sharing settlements have created a system that feels more like free agency than the tradition-rich world fans and boosters grew up loving. And while these changes were designed to empower athletes, they’ve introduced a new risk—one that could quietly erode the foundation of college athletics: fan allegiance.

The recent Denver Post article on the introduction of the CU Buffs’ new athletic director Fernando Lovo captured this tension perfectly. Longtime donor Dan Stroh summed up the frustration:

“It’s not all about the NIL. It still has to be about the fans, the university, your teammates, and the community. The NIL and the transfer portal have taken all that out. It’s all about ‘me,’ and ‘How much money can you give me?’”

Stroh’s words echo a growing sentiment among boosters: writing checks without loyalty is a losing game. When donors feel disconnected and fans sense that allegiance no longer matters, programs risk more than budget deficits—they risk their identity.

The Brutal Math Behind the Emotion

CU faces a projected $27 million deficit, driven by the NCAA vs. House settlement and escalating coaching salaries. Revenue-sharing caps will climb to $21.3 million by 2026-27. Meanwhile, the transfer portal churns athletes like one-year mercenaries, leaving boosters wondering why they should invest in relationships that vanish overnight.

As Stroh put it bluntly:

“You give them that check and the guy’s gone tomorrow. To hell with that. That ain’t happening to me. No allegiance, no money.”

This is the vicious cycle: donors hesitate because players lack loyalty; players leave because schools can’t pay enough to keep them. Round and round it goes.

The Hidden Risk: Fan Experience and Community

While administrators scramble to manage budgets and NIL compliance, the fan experience—the emotional glue of college sports—is at risk. If programs don’t address this now, they’ll wake up to empty seats, disengaged boosters, and a fractured community. That’s not just a cultural loss; it’s a business crisis.

The Sloane Solution: Turning Disruption into Advantage

This is where Sloane’s NCAA offering becomes a game-changer. Our approach goes beyond transactional NIL deals. We help athletic departments:

- Rebuild Connection: Develop messaging that reinforces the athlete-university-fan triangle as a shared story of success—not a -zero-sum game.

- Engage Core Constituencies: Create campaigns that celebrate boosters and fans as essential partners, not sidelined spectators.

- Empower Athletes Beyond Dollars: Position programs as platforms for personal growth, education, and community impact—advantages that outlast any NIL check.

Our strategy—rooted in data-driven insights, audience-centric storytelling, and executive-level execution—ensures that programs don’t just survive this new era; they thrive by making loyalty their competitive edge.

The Bottom Line

The NIL era isn’t going away. But programs that treat it as a transactional arms race will lose. The real superpower lies in alignment: athletes who see their university as more than a paycheck, and fans who feel their loyalty matters more than ever. At Sloane, we help athletic departments build that alignment—because in the new business of college sports, connection is currency.

Contact Jon Hammond at jhammond@sloanepr.com to learn how Sloane can help your program thrive.

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