Software will help NCAA Football take pulse of Internet fans

By Erik Spanberg
Sports Business Journal
September 4, 2006

A college football trade group hopes to tap into the online huddle of college football fans — and it’s turning to a Charlotte company to make that happen.

Sports Media Challenge, working with partner firm Capital Thought of Austin, Texas, has created software designed to comb through fan chat rooms, blogs and other discussion groups to determine which topics resonate and whether fans have positive or negative opinions on various aspects of the college game.

Sports Media Challenge President Kathleen Hessert compares the service to an instantaneous, all-encompassing clip service bolstered by expert analysis.

NCAA Football, a separate group from the college sports governing body, has hired Sports Media Challenge to monitor and report on how fans and media view the sport, beginning this season. NCAA Football includes members from all the major conferences, the American Football Coaches Association and the Bowl Championship Series.

Buzz Manager clients pay $25,000 and up for monitoring over a period of five months or more, Hessert said. Specific terms of the NCAA Football deal weren’t disclosed.

Erik Spanberg writes for the Charlotte Business Journal, an affiliate publication.



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