Participation rates and gross revenue vs. promotion and exposure: Advertisement and multimedia coverage of 18 sports within NCAA Division I athletic department websites

Athletic department websites have become a centerpiece of institutional athletic marketing efforts. Every Division I NCAA athletic department currently has a website, and these websites have become a significant element in communication brand-building efforts (NCAA Members, 2006). A primary benefit of athletic department websites is the ability to promote their overall product through the provision of equitable coverage to each of the teams housed within their department through individual team pages. The purpose of this study was to identify the advertisement and multimedia coverage of individual teams on NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic home websites and contrast the coverage with participation rates and team gross revenue. Twenty Division I (10 programs [FBS]; 10 programs [FCS]) athletic websites were selected based on sport offerings, and data were gathered during three weeks of each of the three sport seasons (Fall, Winter, and Spring) featured during the academic school year (N = 420). Overall, from an equity perspective, the results demonstrated that men's and women's basketball, and football received significantly more multimedia and promotional coverage when in comparison to the teams that received negative coverage differences. In contrast, when analyzing the coverage from a financial standpoint, the results confirmed that football was underrepresented.

Research highlights
► Advertisements and multimedia are a critical element of website coverage.
► Men's and women's basketball dominate coverage from an equity standpoint.
► Men's football is underrepresented in coverage from a financial standpoint.