View all posts: Sports Marketing

If you’ve ever been at Tampa International Airport on a Friday, you’ll likely see people wearing college apparel waiting for their flight to wherever a person’s school of choice happens to be playing. My destination of choice for football weekend is Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

College football has influenced my fall travel plans for years. Being an Alabama Crimson Tide alumna and a longtime season ticket holder, I travel to Tuscaloosa for three home games on average each season. I’ve also gone to a few games on “neutral ground” (Atlanta and Jacksonville) and two post-season games (the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and the Capital One Bowl in Orlando).

Sports and sporting events can be big draws for a destination. The National Association of Sports Commissions...