Super Spirit: How School Leaders Can Leverage the Big Game to Boost Campus Engagement

One of the biggest sporting events of the year is less than two weeks away! This Big Game is not only an opportunity for the fans of two lucky football organizations to cheer their team on to victory, but also a chance for school administrators and leaders to engage their campus communities with Super Spirit. Regardless of individual backgrounds or interests, this is an opportunity to bring everyone together for a week of debate, discussion, and excitement.

Here are some ways you can leverage the Big Game to build that excitement and lasting bonds on your campus.

1. Create a sense of community.

The Big Game unites people and communities from all walks of life and your campus is a world in itself. 

A great way to develop and encourage a sense of community is to create events and activities that not only drum up interest in the game, but create bonds among staff and students. 

Consider creating a social media post to highlight your campus spirit. In it, feature students wearing school colors, cheering at a game, or enjoying an event that is special to your community. This is a great way to showcase the life of your campus, create excitement, and generate support from the community.

2. Encourage student involvement.

Your student body’s morale and attitude about your school are among the most important factors in making your campus a fun and welcoming place to be. 

Using the Big Game as an inspiration, create opportunities for your students to get involved with activities. Examples include grade-level or homeroom competitions, and door or hallway decorating contests.

You might also incentivize students by offering access to a pep rally or other game-themed event in exchange for meeting a cross-campus expectation or goal. This allows the students to be active participants in a fun activity. 

You can leverage social media as a tool to encourage participation in the contest, and keep the community informed about what’s happening on your campus.

3. Highlight school achievements.

Professional sports leagues, like The NFL, give out awards for their Most Valuable Player, honors for achievement in different player positions, and for the contributions that players make in their communities. This same model can be replicated for your school as you honor students, faculty, and staff. 

This can be replicated on your campus by presenting awards to honor the achievements of your students, faculty, and staff. The acknowledgment will give them a boost of pride, and confidence while reinforcing the idea that hard work and dedication are rewarded.

Once you’ve decided who you want to honor on your campus, consider sharing that information with local media partners and inviting them to share the story with their audiences. This is a great way to amplify the great work happening on your campus while owning your school’s narrative.

4. Celebrate the spirit.

During the week leading into the Big Game, there are always activities and events designed to pump up spirit and excitement. School leaders and administrators can leverage this same idea to create School Spirit-focused events to close out the school week. Examples could include encouraging students and staff to dress in their favorite team’s colors, and a pep rally to show school pride.

Invite your parents and the community out to celebrate with you. You can get the word out by sending out emails, leveraging a text-based service like the Remind app, and creating engaging posts on your social media platforms.

5. Make it fun.

Any event or activity that calls for school spirit is meant to be fun. Be sure the activities and events you create are exciting and fun for your students and staff.

Create space for your campus to have fun, and be sure to share that fun throughout your school community by leveraging the communication tools you have available. 

If you need additional help finding ways to communicate with your school community about all of the great things happening on your campus, reach out to us. We can help you create a strategic communication plan to drive engagement with your stakeholders.