he Chattanooga Mocs run to the National Invitation Tournament Championship trophy brought national acclaim and organic marketing benefits to the University and athletic department.
photo by Gomocs.com/Angela Foster
The Chattanooga Mocs claimed just the second title in a national postseason tournament in men’s basketball program history earning the 2025 National Invitation Tournament trophy. The 5-game run brought a lot of attention to the scrappy Mocs and the value behind that attention draws tremendous value to the University as a whole as well as the athletics department in particular.
The estimated value is based on a variety of factors. Our model includes TV viewership, social media impressions, news coverage and sponsorship and merchandising exposure. The numbers are impressive.
The NIT Championship game itself provided up to $8,000,000. First of course is the organic television benefit from 45 minutes of competitive, high-level, intense basketball drama. The estimations range up to $3,000,000 with the primetime ESPN viewership.
“It was tremendous exposure for our University,” Vice Chancellor for Athletics Mark Wharton noted. “It was a chance to showcase our program and all that we’re about (at Chattanooga). I could not be prouder of Coach Dan Earl, his staff and of course our wonderful players who not only won but captured our city’s hearts.”
Then there are calculations of up to $2,000,000 in social media and digital exposure. That engagement is always highest after a win and in a significant moment such as a Big Maple three or Trey Bonham dicing up a defense or the feelgood stories of transfers Bash Wieland, Garrison Keeslar and Jack Kostel. That’s not even mentioning the natural effervescence of Honor Huff in determining the value of this type of “earned” digital media.
The success saw more than three million impressions over the varied platforms. That covers the wildly popular @GoMocsMBB Instagram account as well as X/Twitter and Facebook. That reach not only is about impressions, but it includes a 15 percent influx in new followers as well.
Magical, historic, legendary. Whatever you want to call this run, it’s COMPLETE.
Local media coverage is another area. The impact of regular coverage at the Times Free Press and Chattanoogan.com grows to a new level in postseason triumphs. That is true too of the coverage provided throughout the season from Local 3 and News 12 as well as NewsChannel9’s feature moments. Less traditional media joined in and boosted up to another $2,000,000 in added value.
“We are very fortunate to get the media exposure we do in Chattanooga,” Coach Dan Earl added. “It’s not like that in most places. It’s great for our student-athletes because they get an extra platform others don’t have at our level, and we could not be more appreciative of the work our local media does in the community.”
The increased media attention also provides visibility for sponsors, team merchandise and local businesses. The rise in sales of team-branded products and the visibility of sponsors can translate into substantial indirect advertising value that adds up to another $1,000,000 to the tally.
While the 5-game NIT run had up to $5,000,000 in television advertising benefit to the school and program; it’s not the only time the Mocs were on national television during the season. There were 10 total hits covering ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU as well as CBS Sports and Big Ten Networks. That total raises the total to nearly $10 million in impactful value from television alone.
The impact of Mocs alumni, fans, donors and the University as a whole drives such success. That’s aided by sponsorship partner Mocs Sports Properties as well as the NIL collectives involved. To steal from a timeless adage, it truly takes a village.