UVa Hoops Riffs

The frustration with UVA football is real, but the core problem is larger than any player, coach or single individual. In my view, it is a business problem. Charlottesville (where one of our Good Feet stores resides) is one of the smallest TV markets in the country. Athletics today run on multi-year brand deals, NIL collectives, and revenue flywheels from large alumni bases and proximity to major corporate HQs. UVA lacks the geographical advantages and lacks the scale and reach of Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, or Florida. That is a structural constraint. UVA’s football fan base is more fragile (not a fault of fans) due to a lack of a winning tradition compared to the power programs—Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, USC. Those are the Amazon, Walmarts and Coca-Colas of college football. They can operate on tradition and confidence that their customers will be back even when they miss. UVA cannot afford many misses and has to be scrappy: more creative, more personal, and more deliberate about every fan, donor, and sponsor. Otherwise the support of the fan base erodes quickly. The football program would make a strong Darden case study on building without the giants’ natural advantages. In 2021 we were early NIL partners with UVA. We started with Kihei Clark on TV spots, then expanded to other athletes in UVA-logo jerseys, attaching millions in Good Feet advertising to the UVA brand. We followed the university’s approach: not pay-to-play, but real marketing leverage, inviting players to conferences, networking, and speaking opportunities. We did the same for others in football, men’s and women’s basketball, and non-rev sports. We are not a major Fortune 500 brand but we have made meaningful investments and will match our heart with anyone. Two years ago major money flowed into UVA football. Problem solved, or so it seemed! Emphasis seemed to shift to seven and eight-figure checks. Those are wonderful gifts but that is not a sustainable model. Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Walmart, built flywheels one customer at a time. Is it possible that those generous donations muddied good strategic thinking? It seems there is need of a strategy that attaches value at every level: the single fan with family at a few games, season-ticket holders and lower-level donors, small businesses attaching to the brand, larger sponsors, mid-tier five- and six-figure donors, and the premium seven-to-eight figure donors. When you are customer focused, you are accountable to those customers. Is it possible, that greater accountability to customers up and down the ladder, could foster better football strategy? Tradition and humility can go together; tradition and entitlement cannot. Academic excellence and history are strengths, not automatic equalizers to the football powers. Be accountable to the people paying the bills, make hard, strategic decisions, be creative, listen. Embrace being David because you will never be Goliath. Winning will come.