The NCAA News - News and Features

September 29, 1997

Basketball marketing plan to begin with research

The first step in the NCAA's plan to market college basketball more effectively will involve conducting extensive research about the sport.

The Division I Business/Finance Cabinet, which met September 16, agreed with a recommendation from the Basketball Marketing Subcommittee that research be conducted before a strategic plan is implemented to market and promote the sport.

A research firm will be retained by late October to gather data during the 1997-98 season in both men's and women's basketball.

Researchers will explore such matters as attendance, the public's image of college basketball, demographic issues and television ratings.

The Basketball Marketing Subcommittee also plans to use the data to see how the needs of women's college basketball may be different from those of the men's game.

In addition to the research, the subcommittee will meet with Host Communications Inc. in October to discuss marketing and promotional efforts that could be undertaken for college basketball in the 1997-98 season.

The Basketball Marketing Subcommittee is a 15-person group chaired by Carolyn J. Schlie Femovich, senior associate director of athletics at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Business/Finance Cabinet. It includes four other members of the cabinet and one representative from the Collegiate Commissioners Association, two from the Division I Men's Basketball Committee, two from the Division I Women's Basketball Committee, one from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, three from the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators and one from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

Other business

In other business at its recent meeting, the Business/Finance Cabinet voted that the Division I Management Council recommend to the Executive Committee that a subcommittee from the cabinet be appointed to review the NCAA's catastrophic-injury insurance program. The cabinet agreed Divisions II and III representatives should be appointed to the subcommittee since the plan is an Association-wide program.

The program provides supplemental insurance protection for individuals involved in intercollegiate athletics at member institutions. The program features both catastrophic-injury insurance, such as for severe head and neck trauma, and supplemental major-medical insurance (the most common claims involve knee injuries). In both cases, the deductible is $25,000 and provides benefits in excess of any other valid and collectible insurance.

Since 1992, the program has been underwritten in two three-year policy periods on behalf of North American Specialty Insurance Company, a member of Swiss Re.

The second three-year policy expires August 1, 1998. At this time, the NCAA is opening the renewal process and inviting qualified insurers to provide a proposal. American Specialty, the program administrator, will continue in its current role.

The cabinet recommended that the following individuals represent Division I on the subcommittee that would examine the Association's catastrophic-injury insurance program: Irv Cross, director of athletics, Idaho State University, chair; Eve Atkinson, director of athletics, Lafayette University; Jim Murphy, director of athletics, Davidson College; and Ben Jay, assistant commissioner for finance, Pacific-10 Conference. The cabinet also recommended that the Division II Budget/Finance Committee and the Division III Budget Committee appoint one representative each to the subcommittee.

The Business/Finance Cabinet also recommended a change regarding which athletes have access to the NCAA special assistance fund.

The cabinet voted to recommend to the Division I Management Council that Pell-eligible student-athletes and student-athletes who are receiving countable, athletically related financial aid and who demonstrate financial need would be eligible to receive up to $500 for the cost of clothing and other essential expenses.

Currently, only Pell-eligible student-athletes and student-athletes with unmet financial needs who are receiving full grants-in-aid qualify to use the special assistance fund for clothing and other essential expenses.

The cabinet reviewed a report that showed that conferences still have more than $5 million available from the special assistance fund for future use. Its belief is that the change would provide an opportunity to reach more student-athletes who have unmet financial needs.

The cabinet also voted to clarify that under the current policies, financial aid administrators can certify in writing that a foreign student-athlete has financial need.