TRY

A marketing strategy for the future of womens rugby

at St. Bonaventure University.
Prepared by Synapse
November 2015

SBU WOMENS RUGBY:

OUR STORY
Club sport with limited resources, funding and awareness
Competes in fall season and 2-3 spring tournaments
2015 NY State Champions

WOMENS RUGBY STORY

Rugby has a lack of exposure in the United States.
As a womens rugby team, theyre marginalized.
Womens sports tends to be underfunded nationally.
And yet, womens rugby at SBU has prevailed.

THE SITUATION
Ironically, recent success has wiped us out financially.
No matter how successful, we cant count on sufficient
funding.
We need an adequate reserve for tournaments,
unforeseen expenses.
We need a solid financial plan for the long term stability
of the team.

SGA SUPPORT
Funding is determined by SGA resources, not the needs of the team.
Hockey and mens rugby receive more funding than other teams
due to higher league costs
Funding covers:
Member registration fee
$150 annual fee to USA Rugby
Cost of EMTs
Equipment

It costs more to participate than were receiving.

THE PROBLEM
There is no strategic action plan in place to raise funds.
We need to implement a set of reliable tactics to ensure
sustainable funding to meet financial exigencies.

OUR GOAL:
A long-term road map to ensure financial stability
for 5+ years.

BREAKING DOWN THE GOAL

Tournament registration: $150-300/tournament
Regionals and States registration: $8,000
Unforeseen expenses (hotels, food etc.): $1,000
To secure financial stability, we will provide a road map
to generate $10,000 annually.

OUR ROAD MAP

Key strategies:
1. Increase Alumnae engagement
2. Grants
3. Support from WNY womens advocacy groups

ALUMNI RELATIONS
Mens Rugby engenders a lot of support through staying in
contact with their Alumni.
Keeps them up to date with recent news regarding the
team via social media platforms.
Facebook: schedule, highlight videos and updates
about fellow alumni
Live tweets games
Mens rugby Alumni weekend: game and party
Reminds them theyre still a part of the family.

CURRENT ALUMNAE RELATIONS

Pretty much nada zero zip zilch

Oops!

ALUMNAE RELATIONS:
TACTIC 1
Develop a contact list of alumnae including current
addresses and phone numbers, but also social media.

ALUMNAE RELATIONS:
TACTIC 2
Increase alumnae engagement on Facebook.
Regular, timely posts
Snowball push to involve more alumnae
Where are they now?
Build on current alumnae presence on Twitter.
Snowball followers
Invite dialogue and engagement during live tweets.

ALUMNAE RELATIONS:
TACTIC 2

Share news related to relevant current events such as:

Womens advancement in and out of the sports arena.
Increasing awareness of rugby throughout the United States.
Training as a female athlete vs. training as a male athlete
(news articles, workout guides)
female college athletes success in the work force (Specific
rugby alumnae and in general)

Go beyond SBU womens rugby show your brand to your followers.

ALUMNAE RELATIONS:
TACTIC 3
Other possible tactics to increase engagement with alumnae
include:
Hosting a reunion weekend tournament
Host meet-the-players mixer after games.
Get alumnae to physically support SBU womens rugby
through pre-planned meet-ups at away games

GRANT TACTICS
Grants are available (and under-utilized).
Grants for the advancement of women generally
Womens athletics grants
Rugby-specific grants
APPLY, APPLY, APPLY!

TO LIST A FEW:

Womens Sports Foundations Travel and Training Fund

Womens Rugby Grant

Western Rugby Football Union

AAUW Grants and Scholarships

Walmart Community Grant

WNY Womens Foundation Grant

Grants For Women

Oak Foundation Grant

Lead-HER-Ship

Global Fund for Women

Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative

TRYon Rugby

NCAA Emerging Sports: Rugby

US Rugby Foundation

WOMENS ADVOCACY GROUPS:

TACTIC
Prepare a plan to introduce SBU womens rugby to
each of these groups individually.

WOMENS ADVOCACY GROUPS:

TACTIC
Arrange personal contacts and visits with each of these
groups to explore:
Common ground for the advancement of
opportunities for young women.
The possibilities of grants or scholarships, either for
an individual player, or for the team.
The possibility of shared promotion
The possibility of a team sponsorship

TO LIST A FEW:

NYS Womens INC Buffalo/Nigara Chapter

The Womens Sports Foundation
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
General Federation of Womens Clubs (GFWC)

SO, WHATS THE FIRST STEP?