I am a brand strategist at a Brand Strategy firm in Greensboro, North Carolina called Stealing Share Incorporated. I have been a part of organized athletics for almost 17 years, including a full four years of Division I soccer. College athletics evoke a different feeling, promise, and standard for each individual, but without a doubt, the NCAA is as much of a brand as Ford, Wal*mart, Burger King, or Ralph Lauren.

It is only recently that I have discovered how much the NCAA mirrors the patterns of brand messaging and how young athletes act upon consumer behavior. One would automatically assume the connection of athletics to the branded world to be logical due to the close reflection of societal norms within the athletic sphere; however, analyzing collegiate sports in particular as a brand is a highly sensitive and surprising process for anyone who has been a part of the brand in any form, worked for the brand, shed blood sweat and tears for the brand, or more or less lived for the brand.

At Stealing Share, we focus primarily upon brand as a behavioral model of perception and beliefs, which directly influences consumer trends, decisions, and habits in various markets. Consumers make buying decisions based on beliefs, or precepts, as we call them. There is emotional investment when purchasing the most mundane products, and our work focuses upon the excavation of fundamental emotions and beliefs. Our clients are prepared for an honest, objective, and dispassionate third party consultation regarding their brands. This objective introspection is one of the most challenging aspects of our work because we must completely detach ourselves from all personal bias, beliefs, and experiences in order to serve the client, and more importantly, the target customer of the client.

How does this behavior model relate to collegiate athletics? Consider the norms. Almost every high school in the United States has at least one aspiring athlete. The desire to be pushed to the limits, coached by experts of the game, win big wins, find new family within a team, and have memories to cherish for the rest of his/her life. College athletics is branded by hope, achievement, and desire much like the military. The brand message is clear, targeted, and praised