Mapping the Collegiate Sponsorship Landscape: Brand Partnerships
In the rapidly evolving world of collegiate sponsorships, understanding the landscape of brand partnerships with collegiate athletes has become essential for universities, agencies, and collectives. At SA Score, we've mapped out the landscape showing sponsorships by university, region, sport, and more. With March Madness upon us and all the sponsorships it brings, we're excited to share a literal map of brand mentions and sponsorships across the US.
Introducing Our Interactive Brand Spotlight Map
Our interactive Brand Spotlight map provides unprecedented visibility into the collegiate athlete sponsorship ecosystem. This powerful visualization tool allows stakeholders to identify trends, opportunities, and competitive insights across different regions and brand categories.
Finding Sponsorship Trends
The map shows the top 10 mentioned brands by collegiate athletes in the given brand category, time period, and region. The brand mentions could be sponsored or organic posts. Try out the filters and click around on the map to find the top mentioned brands by athletes.
Real-World Examples in Action
WTRMLN, the hydration brand, recently ran a campaign in Texas putting it at the top of athlete mentions in the last 90 days in Texas. This strategic regional focus demonstrates how brands can effectively target specific markets within the collegiate landscape. By selecting Category: Food & Beverage, Time Period 90 Days, and clicking on Texas we can view this:
Inside the SA Score platform, we can view all of the posts made by the athletes and analyze the impact. Here are a few examples of WTRMLN's successful campaign:
Beyond the Map: The Complete SA Score Platform
While our public Brand Spotlight map provides insights into some of the brands in this space, the full SA Score platform offers comprehensive data to help stakeholders navigate the collegiate sponsorship landscape:
- Verified Sponsorships: Distinguish between organic mentions and paid partnerships
- Athlete Discovery: Identify trending athletes across various metrics
- Brand Activity Tracking: Monitor which brands are most active and trending in the collegiate space
- Performance Analytics: Measure engagement, reach, and impact of partnerships
For Brands Interested In Collegiate Athlete Marketing
For brands looking to leverage collegiate athlete partnerships, SA Score offers powerful insights and tools to optimize your sponsorship strategy:
- Athlete Discovery & Matching: Find the perfect athletes for your campaigns based on audience demographics, engagement metrics, content style, and brand alignment
- Competitive Intelligence: Gain visibility into your competitors' sponsorship strategies—which athletes they're partnering with, campaign types, and performance metrics
- Market Analysis: Identify untapped opportunities in your category or region and understand which approaches are generating the best results
- Earned Media Tracking: Measure the true value of both sponsored and organic athlete mentions across platforms
- ROI Measurement: Quantify the impact of your sponsorship investments with comprehensive performance analytics
Coming soon: Our enhanced Brand Intelligence Suite will provide even deeper insights into the collegiate athlete landscape, helping brands make data-driven decisions about their NIL partnerships.
Experience SA Score for Yourself
Ready to dive deeper into the data? Want to see verified sponsorships, discover trending athletes, monitor active brands, and access comprehensive analytics?
Contact us to schedule a personalized demo and discover how SA Score can transform your approach to collegiate sponsorships.
SA Score analyzes public social media content from over 200k collegiate athletes to provide the most comprehensive view of brand partnerships in the collegiate landscape.
