A small Christian university has called in Business Communicators 2.0 to help discuss the best way or ways to communicate the importance of athletics to all constituents. At the same time the university has decided to start a football program for the fall of 2010.
First it is important to understand the background of this university and its athletic programs. The school has eight sports, four each for men and women. Athletics were started at the school primarily to help increase enrollment, not necessarily with much emphasis put on winning. For many years the programs did what the school wanted them to do. Students came to the school to participate in these programs; without these programs they would not have come. The programs were not winning, therefore, creating a high turnover of coaches as the coaches wanted to win but were not given the resources to do so. In response, the school decided to offer better scholarships to attract better players. It worked because the programs started winning and even won many national championships. This helped to also recruit more students who wanted to attend a school that was winning and where there was huge excitement when the teams played.
So where is the problem? The problem is the negative image of the athletic programs as perceived by the constituents of the university: the community, the students, the faculty, and the alumni. Some of the complaints include the following: too much money being put into athletics, poor academics from the athletes, disrespect for and ill-treatment of athletes’ housing (usually off-campus), and large percentage of athletes not graduating. Furthermore, most of the athletes do not profess to be Christians and risk being a negative influence on the students around them.
The Christian university needs Business Communicators 2.0 to create a plan that would communicate to its constituents the benefits and advantages of such athletic programs, thus creating a positive image of the university’s athletics. It faces the challenges of turning something considered negative into a positive for the college.
Furthermore, Business Communicators 2.0 needs to develop a plan to inform these same constituents that the university will introduce football in the fall of 2010. It must dispel any preconceived ideas and stereotypes as it presents this as a benefit to all associated with the university.
