Desales University: Case Study

Recently, DeSales University hosted the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Cross Country Championships. DeSales University was one of the eight regional sites for the 2016 championships. My role for the event was to sell merchandise the day before the race as many of the participants arrived early. Asa a member of the DeSales cross country time and as a runner in high school, I have experienced some larger meets but this meet was at the next level of competition and working at it proved to be a very interesting experience. As I performed my duties, many of the topics that we discussed in class became apparent to me. Early in our course we discussed the uniqueness of sport marketing. We noted that sporting events cannot be replicated. As I worked, I realized that for many of the participants and their families, this event may be a one-time occurrence.

In this case, the product was related to the event itself. The sport was to be consumed at the event. The product line was aimed at a type of consumer, namely the athletes present and their families. The prices for the merchandise may be considered somewhat high. This could be due in part to the “NCAA” branding which distinguishes it from other sport products. Additionally, the type of materials used in the clothing , such as dri-fit versus cotton drives the price. There is a degree of prestige pricing because it is a championship event. The merchandise sold was not manufactured by the NCAA, but by other companies that have licensing agreements with the NCAA. We discussed this recently during the course. Since the NCAA is a large institution that sponsors numerous championship events, the licensing program is vital. It is aimed at ensuring the quality and consistency of the merchandise and to protect the consumer from faulty or inferior products. This adherence to quality will help generate revenue to support NCAA programs of member