Big changes are coming to IUPUI! In August of 2022, it was announced that the campus would be rebranding to IU Indianapolis, and that the Purdue would no longer be offering courses on the campus. In the midst of these changes, the university is working to create a new image for itself and deepen its roots in the city of Indianapolis. In light of the IUI rebranding news, IUPUI sports management students enrolled in their senior capstone consulting class during the Spring 2023 semester were tasked with being leaders in the reimagining of how an athletic department engages with the campus population and builds a dedicated following.
The students conducted a series of 41 interviews with staff, faculty, and students at IUPUI to better understand the current state of athletics on campus and to establish a path forward for IU Indianapolis. Students were tasked with empathizing with the individuals they interviewed and using their stories to make educated decisions about what athletics on campus should look like.
It was found that college sports can assist a campus, build an identity and be a powerful unifier, however when walking through IUPUI’s campus and facilities there is sparse mention of their athletic endeavors and a notable lack of students wearing IUPUI gear. It is clear that during this transitional period, the identity and future of the campus is in the balance, and major decisions must be made to determine what IU Indianapolis will become. The students imagined a future for IU Indianapolis with athletics as the lightning rod for future growth of the campus. It was determined that a core component of what creates a campus identity was a place for students to gather. Though IUPUI has its multi-story Campus Center filled with food options, meeting spaces, and activities, it is much more common to find students in the buildings where most of their classes are held. The students determined the best way to create a gathering space was to tie it to a new sports facility.
IUPUI’s indoor sports primarily play in The Jungle, a gym inside the IU Natatorium on campus, however the men’s basketball team plays roughly 20 minutes north at the State Fair Grounds, creating an odd dynamic for the athletic events offered to students on campus. The current indoor venue is not even home to all of IUPUI’s sports, so it should not come as a surprise that students do not attend many games, let alone gather at the arena in their free time. A new sports facility can energize a student population and provide an invaluable cultural gathering place on campus, which IUPUI is currently lacking. Based on research into peer institutions and other schools in the Horizon League, the class recommended the creation of a new 4,800 seat arena to host IUI sporting events and provide a meaningful gathering place for students.
The students began by populating a calendar of events for this new arena, pitching over 200 nights of use for the venue each year. This venue would be the home for IUI’s basketball and volleyball teams, recreational sports, campus events, tournaments, and events from the surrounding community in Indianapolis. Ensuring the building is multi-functional is an important step in creating a space that appeals to students. Beyond having plenty of diverse events for students to go to, the space needs to be just as inviting when nothing is being hosted. To accomplish this, students illustrated how the use of outdoor plazas and indoor clubhouses can transform the way that students interact on campus.
Bolstering the impact of the new facility, the student researchers established a framework to design different initiatives to implement on campus, near campus, and in town. Additionally, depending on whether it is preseason, a non-gameday, pregame, in-game, or post-game, the students created a slate of tasks specifically chosen to deliver immediate and long-term gains for the campus. The students first described impact a full-fledged student section can provide to energy on campus and in the stadium based on discussions held with founders of The Biggest Fan XP, a consultancy firm with expertise in creating student sections from the ground up. Students also stressed the importance of building visibility for the athletic department both on campus and in the city. This can be accomplished through co-branding opportunities with organizations in Indianapolis, revamped signage and IUI related imagery throughout Indianapolis and on campus, and a focused effort to use social media to enhance storytelling.
At the time that our research was presented on Friday, April 28th, the stadium was an aspiration that students knew was ambitious, but stood by it due to its perceived importance from the research. In a major boost to the university’s efforts to rebrand itself and engage students, the Indiana State Budget Agency announced on Monday, May 1st, 2023 that they are providing $89 million to fund the construction of a sports facility on the southeast portion of the IU Indianapolis campus. This means that the stadium designed could transform from inspiration to a blueprint for the future of IU Indianapolis.
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