Date: November 2, 2017

To: Mark Wharton

Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics

Chattanooga Athletics UTC

From: Stephanie Poget, Student

Subject: Proposal for Student Attendance of Athletics Events

Purpose

The purpose of this proposal is to request the permission to coordinate a research study to
determine why university students do not attend athletic events.

Summary

In recent years, the university has seen a lack of support and active participation from the
students for the athletic programs. With the many of the universitys athletic teams doing well
within their conference division as well as outside of their conference, there seems to be a lack of
support from the students towards the athletes.

While there is a large alumni population that shows up to some of the sports games, it is still
unclear as to why alumni come to the games but current students do not. When the sports teams
are competing against other teams they want to be supported by fans, however that is difficult if
the fans choose not to show up to the games. Even though students are allowed into all athletic
events for free, with a valid UTC ID card, as well as free parking, students still are not showing
up to the games.

This research is primarily to focus on helping the student athletes as a solution to the lack of
support in the form of attendance at athletic events from fellow students. The goal is to create a
stronger school spirit at the games and have an overall better presence for the student athletes.

In order to solve this problem, students throughout the university will be surveyed about what
would entice them to come to the events. For more in depth research, there could be focus groups
to bounce possible incentives for students at the sporting events. In addition to this primary
research, some secondary research will also be added in. This secondary research will include a
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consideration how athletic departments at other universities, around the same student population
size as UTC, encourage their students to attend their sporting events.

The process of conducting the primary research stage will include an open survey to the whole
student body of UTC over the next few weeks. This survey will include a call for volunteers for
the focus group as well as a poll with a few questions concerning the researched topic. There
would be no cost as far as the research part of the project goes. Depending on what the research
findings report, there is the possibility of having the need of a budget for the incentives before
the sporting events.

If this proposal gets approved, the research will begin immediately. A project update will be sent
to Mr. Wharton and the athletic department staff periodically throughout the project. The updates
will include an update on where the project is currently as well as recommendations for the rest
of the project and after the project is done.

Introduction

During the 2016-2017 athletic seasons, UTCs sporting events showed fewer student supporters
than in all the previous seasons. As the university is increasingly doing well in their respective
sports, the student athletes deserve the recognition of these achievements from their fellow
students.

Attendance and participation from the universitys students at the sporting events has declined
leaving a lack of cheering fans for the teams. While the games and locations have not changed,
the number of fans in the stands has. All games are free for students to attend as well as free
parking or bus transportation to and from the games.

In the current athletic season, there have already been some changes to the before game
festivities, these new activities include concerts, free food, and tailgates. Since the start of these
festivities the number of students has risen but the number of those students who actually make it
into the game are still low.

Annotated Bibliography

Diamond, Laura. "Regents Watching College Sports." The Atlanta Journal Constitution Mar
13 2013. ProQuest. Web. 25 Oct. 2017. In this article, Diamond discussed how in order for
a university to expand their current athletic departments they must have sufficient support
and approval from students. Without this support and other factors the department cannot
expand their operations.
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Jozsa, Frank Paul. College sports Inc. how commercialism influences intercollegiate athletics.
Springer, 2013. Web. As a former athlete now turner businessman, Jozsa knows what it
takes to develop and effectively run an athletic department. He points out parts of athletic
programs that are doing well and why they are doing so. Jozsa connects the programs
effectiveness to historical background and problems of the university and sports teams as
well as the success of the sports teams.

Kavoura, Androniki, et al. Strategic Innovative Marketing: 4th IC-SIM, Mykonos, Greece 2015.
Springer International Publishing, 2017. Web. In the chapter Generation Y Marketing-
The Path to Achievement of Successful Marketing Results Among the Young Generation it
discusses the adverting aspects of businesses geared toward the younger generations. In the
past advertising was cut and dry, but now it must adapt with the ever so frequently changing
youth. For a business to succeed they must change with the preference of their target
audiences.

Sport as a business: international, professional and commercial aspects. Palgrave Macmillan,

2014. The unknown author tells how sports have distinctive characteristics that dictate if
they will succeed or fail in the industry aspect. They describe how one small detail can
make or break the reliability of the organization.

Proposed Program

With Mr. Whartons approval, I would complete the following five steps in order to create a
well-informed proposal to increase attendance and participation at athletic events.

Step 1: Research other schools athletic departments

In order to increase attendance at our universitys sporting events, we need to understand how
other universities draw their students to their games. I have found articles that show that
supported athletic departments tend to have better outcomes in their respective sports. I have also
started research of schools around the same student population size at UTC and how they run
their athletic departments.

The information that I am looking for will primarily come from general articles about university
sports pregame activities and less informal means of reviews from students at other universities
through blog posts or reviews. Although these informational sources will not lead me straight to
an answer on how to fix my proposed problem, it will give me background and insight into a
possible solution to propose.
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Step 2: Send out a survey

I will send out a survey to the entire university that includes a handful of questions about the
current activities being offered at sporting events and what they would like to see change. In the
email, I will make sure that the participants know that the information collected will be
anonymous and used for the sole purpose of research.

Step 3: Put together a focus group

In order to make a decision on what the solution could be to the problem, I first must understand
what other students want from these sporting events. I will put together a group of around 10
student volunteers to discuss possible changes in the athletic department pregame activities.
They will be asked what they would like to see and be given scenarios to see their reaction to
possible changes to be made. Their responses and reactions will be noted on to be taken into
consideration when forming a final decision.

Step 4: Examine the data

With the data retrieved from the surveys and focus group, I would look at what the students have
suggested as well as their reactions to the current athletic department programming and proposed
changes. I predict that there will be numerous opinions and ideas, but that they will overlap in
terms of the commonality of the ideas.

Step 5: Prepare Report

Finally, I will prepare a report to be sent to the athletic department for Mr. Wharton and his staff
to review. I would take their opinions and comments into consideration for any needed revisions
that may be necessary.

Qualifications/ Personnel

I, Stephanie Poget, will be the leader of this proposed project. In recent years, I have performed
research and presented that research at the UTC Annual Research Dialogues Day. I am currently
a junior in the college of business. During my time at UTC I have been heavily involved on
campus in organizations like the Deans Student Advisory Council, Moc Mentors, Student
Alumni Council, Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority, the Honors College, and the House Christian
Ministries. All these organizations have helped me grow into a creative thinker when it comes to
problems that may arise in any environment.
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Budget

Since I am a student at the university, I will not be receiving monetary payments for the work
that I will do. I do foresee the possibility of having to budget money for the changes in the
athletic pregame activities, but that would be under the budget and discretion of the athletic
department. Therefore, my budget for this proposed project would be $0.

Schedule

Below in figure 1 is presented a schedule for the tasks as they should be completed for the
proposed research project.

Task Date of Tasks (by week)

Research of
Athletic
Departments

Send Survey

Form Focus
Group

Examine
Data

Prepare
Report

November November November November December December

6 13 20 27 4 11

Figure 1. Project Tasks Schedule