December 1, 2010 | Volume 9, Issue 14

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BC Puts Winter Sports on Ice, Ice Baby

Boston College puts on the most successful college athletic event in 2010

CONTACT

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Jamie DiLoreto
Associate Athletic Director
Boston College
Phone: (617) 552-1504
Email: [email protected]

ORGANIZATION

Boston College

PROGRAM TITLE

Boston College's Ice Jam

OBJECTIVES

Like many universities around the nation, the Boston College Athletic Department strives to create exciting events contrived to engage fans and drive interest to their athletic programs. However, Boston College lacked a "Midnight Madness" event, designed to kick-off and excite fans about the upcoming winter season. Even though an event like this has been executed before by other colleges, the Eagles wanted to create more than a run-of-the-mill Midnight Madness.

BC was in need of an unparalleled event, able to bring together their winter sports in a way that's never been done before; an opportunity for fans and alumni to connect with winter sports teams and get to know the student-athletes outside of their sporting arenas. Most importantly, the athletic department wanted to create a new, unique tradition on campus.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Walking past an all too familiar image, the idea for Ice Jam suddenly came to Jamie DiLoreto, the Associate Athletic Director at Boston College. The image depicts half a basketball court connected to half an ice hockey rink, promoting all of BC's winter sports. Thus, the idea of hosting an event with half the arena setup as a basketball court and the other half an ice rink. "In conjunction with the BC student government, BC Athletics was excited to launch our first ever Ice Jam event," says DiLoreto.

Set for a Tuesday night, Ice Jam promotions commenced two weeks prior to create buzz in the form of a student treasure hunt to find a personalized Boston College BMW. Students set out to find pages of a diary once belonging to Amos Lawrence, a famous textile merchant who was once the owner of the land that became Boston College. Once a diary was located, students had to decode the pages using the Allendorf Cipher (similar to the cipher in the movie National Treasure). Students who were able to decipher the question "My farm will become the campus of Boston College, who am I?" and submit the correct answer of "Amos Lawrence," the student was entered to win the BC BMW. All finalists were given a key with the opportunity to try and start the car live at Ice Jam.

Ice Jam was held at Conte Forum, which had been transformed into a half basketball court, half ice area. Guests received glow sticks and Ice Jam t-shirts upon arrival. After an introduction video, celebrity emcee Bob Costas took the stage, followed by BC's winter sports teams, consisting of men's and women's basketball and men's and women's ice hockey. Each team entered the arena to a video intro of a fun skit or dialogue introducing each player and coach. The night continued with team games and challenges and BC partner giveaways. Ice Jam also included an appearance by local celebrity and former BC Quarterback Doug Flutie, and a performance by rapper Vanilla Ice.

The Conte Forum held Boston College's First Annual ICE JAM.

MEDIA

Ice Jam was heavily advertised in many markets. Teams involved in the Ice Jam created teaser videos that circulated around the BC community virally, receiving over 26,000 views on the BC YouTube channel. The athletic department sent out mass emails to BC fans and alumni, promoted the event of their social media sites, and secured radio spots with local radio affiliates. They also had the support of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC), who made sure that the event was covered in multiple articles in the campus newspapers. One of the largest media efforts came from the Treasure Hunt Promotion to win a BC BMW.

PARTNERS

On campus, the Boston College athletic department partnered with the UGBC to collaborate the event, and assist with booking Vanilla Ice. BC also utilized their existing partnership with rights holder Fenway Sports Group. BMW of Peabody partnered with BC to sponsor the treasure hunt and car giveaway.

RESULTS

Boston College achieved their goal of creating buzz around their winter sports, receiving great feedback from alumni, season ticket holders, and students alike. It was even tweeted that "Boston College's Ice Jam was the best event created by a college athletic department this year." The upcoming winter season is sure to involve increased support by the athletic programs.

If you would like to watch the first ever Boston College ICE JAM in its entirety, click here (You can find it on Page 3 of "Featured Videos").

Former BC Quarterback Doug Flutie and rapper Vanilla Ice were on hand for Boston College's ICE JAM.

LOOKING AHEAD

The athletic department was so excited about the success of Ice Jam, that they have already begun planning for 2011. DiLoreto stated, "The feedback from our fan base and teams has been fantastic and we look forward to continuing the tradition next year."

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SPORTS FORUM

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For over 15 years, The National Sports Forum has been the largest annual cross-gathering of the top team sports marketing, sales, promotions, and event entertainment executives from throughout the broad spectrum of teams and leagues in North America. The 2011 NSF Conference and Trade Show will be held on January 31- February 2, 2011 in Louisville, KY. Additionally, NSF attendees and vendors rely on the NSF Alumni Association as their key resource for up-to-date and accurate information about what's going on in the sports industry. Visit www.sports-forum.com or contact The National Sports Forum at (619) 469-4101.

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