Advance
Work: Teach Them and They Will Come
Sports guides aim to get parents hooked on athletics
By Julie Nicklin Rubley
Council for Adancement and Support of Education
(CASE) Currents Newsletter
May, 2006
A new company, SportSpectator,
is offering sports brochures that can engage parents
in institutions' athletics programs--and raise
money.
A handful of independent schools
and colleges are finding that they can increase
interest in their sports programs—and potentially
build their donor bases—by tutoring parents
in the ABCs of athletics.
A new company, SportSpectator,
offers brochures that schools can use both to
educate parents about sports and raise funds.
The laminated brochures highlight the history,
rules, positions, and strategies of 15 different
sports—from baseball to water polo.
Bryan Jones, the company’s
founder, thinks these brochures will build true
fans who attend games because they understand
and enjoy the sport—and that could mean
greater support for the institution in the future.
In addition, the brochures can generate ad revenue
from local businesses that pay to have their business
cards in one of the six slots in each brochure.
A community wrestling team in Colorado, for example,
raised $1,650 from local businesses using this
tactic.
“I’m trying to educate
as many parents and fans as possible, and that
will increase attendance at games, loyalty to
sports, and interest in their kids’ games,”
Jones says. “And then there’s always
the benefit of the fund-raising component.”
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