BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It's a big weekend for the No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers, who are undefeated and hosting the Washington Huskies Saturday at Memorial Stadium for Week 9 of college football. Tickets are sold out for the noon kickoff.
ESPN's College GameDay is setting up on campus for the live pregame broadcast from Bloomington with two-time MLB All-Star and former IU baseball player Kyle Schwarber as guest picker.
The extra fall hype is unfamiliar to IU fans.
"When you have a winning football team, it brings excitement to the campus." said Phil Powell, executive director of the Indiana Business Research Center. "A 7-0 record, being ranked higher than Alabama, this puts us in the headlines."
Extra coverage and attention are tantamount to free advertising. Marketers say the trifecta of coach Curt Cignetti's success in his inaugural season, a winning streak, and an expanded Big Ten Conference makes Indiana University a compelling product right now.
"Athletics is the front door of a university. This is the first thing people see. This is curb appeal. We have better curb appeal than we've had in a few years and football is the reason," Ann Bastianelli, a marketing professor at IU's Kelley School of Business said.
Memorial Stadium, "The Rock," is sold out for home games for the rest of the season, another signal the value IU's football team is rising with the potential to benefit all IU athletes.
"In college athletics, we have about 27 varsity sports, and among the 27, football in America generates almost 80% of the revenue in college sports. So there is a lot of value in that particular event," said Ryan Brewer, an associate professor of finance at IU Columbus.
Brewer said when calculating a team's economic impact and value ticket and retail sales, parking receipts, and media exposure are key elements.
"The TV matters, it really does, but it's more indirect. It's not going to help Bloomington overnight, but it will help Indiana University and the Big Ten Conference. Those revenue shares are pretty significant," Brewer said.
For Bloomington, Bastianelli estimates an economic impact of $260,000 for routine home games, $580,000 for Homecoming, and even more this weekend.
"With College GameDay going to be there, I forecast maybe 25% higher sales receipts," said Bastianelli.
Donors like winners, too.
"When our teams are winning, it lifts the mood of our alumni and makes them less hesitant to write those checks," Powell said.
An influx of funds helps attract top talent.
"I do think it helps in athletic recruiting. I think definitely it helps in mainline recruiting as well as the applications are up this fall," Bastianelli said.
This phenomenon is referred to as the "Flutie Effect," after former Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie. In 1984, Flutie won the Heisman Trophy as the top college football player, beat the University of Miami with a thrilling Hail Mary and led the Eagles to a Cotton Bowl victory.
"The following couple of years, Boston College received more applications to the college than they had received. And I think that could happen for Indiana University, as well," Brewer said.
Brewer last valued IU’s teams before the pandemic in 2019, when Hoosier football was ranked 44th and was valued at $61 million. The top team, the University of Texas, was valued at $1.1 billion.
"Indiana was only capturing 5.5% of its potential value in that sport," Brewer said, adding that there is "much left on the table" and a tremendous upside. Brewer said IU is now ranked 28th nationally, and he is working on a new valuation.
"There’s such a high potential in Bloomington if they can continue winning big games," he said.
The next test is tomorrow, with the Huskies. IU is calling for a "Red Out" at Memorial Stadium before hitting the road to take on the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday, Nov. 2.
IU-Washington kickoff details
The game starts tomorrow, Oct. 26 at noon, with ESPN's College GameDay airing live from 9 a.m. to noon. Fans can gather on the south lawn outside Memorial Stadium. The College GameDay pit opens at 6:30 a.m.
IU will open parking and tailgate lots at 6 a.m. WTHR's Samantha Johnson will report live from Bloomington for Weekend Sunrise, and Dominic Miranda will cover all the action on the field for all 13News platforms.
