Umass and Brand Equity

Brand equity is the overall associations that a sport consumer has with a team, these can be both positive and negative. Brand equity is made up of four different components: perceived quality, brand awareness, brand associations, and brand loyalty. UMass’ basketball program currently entails something from every component. The perceived quality of UMass is relatively high, the team has good prospects. There are three starters returning from the previous season. There are no tickets to sell for the games, with the student section being available. Also, a few years ago when Coach Calipari trademarked the motto “Refuse to Lose”, it set a positive spirit out about the program. There also is a negative perception because of an ex-player, Marcus Camby and his previous scandal, along with him recently being arrested in his hometown. The brand awareness is there, but it could be somewhat improved. Coach Calipari, who is no longer the head coach, really was able to make a name as well as generate awareness for the program as well as the school itself. There is support from the students, the administration, including faculty and staff, the local community and the media. UMass is now appearing more and more on ESPN. There is also nationwide UMass merchandise being sold. Awareness has been gained mainly because of basketball and the successes not only on the court but in ticket and merchandise sales, and in media exposure. Another result of this is shown in the increasing number of students interested in attending UMass, both in-state and out-of-state application numbers have grown significantly. Brand associations of UMass have improved because of the sources they have. The logo and motto on the jerseys, the returning of starting players, recruiting high school athletes in the area, a new head coach, high demands for tickets at the Mullins Center, playing marquis games at neutral sites, which actually generate more revenue than a typical home game even