The Marketing of Black College Sports

Abstract

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the United States compete in athletics at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I & II levels, and they also compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The purpose of this article is to discuss the marketing of athletics programs at HBCUs. Questionnaires were sent to 32 HBCU athletics departments, and 20 departments (63%) responded. The findings of this study revealed that 75% of the HBCUs surveyed had no marketing departments. Moreover, the primary reasons respondents cited for not having sport marketing departments were a) a lack of funds, b) a lack of staff, and c) a lack of expertise. The authors made various recommendations and suggestions regarding ways to enhance and to promote the viability, visibility, and marketability of the athletics departments of these institutions .