AD 360 Episode 26: Fan Engagement for High School Athletics

Host: PlayOn Sports
Date: October 7, 2025
Guests: Greg Vandermade (Host), Scott Rosenberg (Co-host), Brady Pond (Athletic Director, Westwood High School, Arizona)

Overview

This episode explores the multifaceted concept of fan engagement in high school athletics. Hosts Greg Vandermade and Scott Rosenberg are joined by Brady Pond, Athletic Director at Westwood High School (AZ), to discuss strategies for connecting with campus and community fans, building school spirit, and strengthening athletic department culture beyond wins and losses. The conversation highlights practical approaches, technology's role, leadership dynamics, branding, inclusivity, and time management for athletic directors (ADs).

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Defining Fan Engagement at the High School Level

• Community-Focused Engagement
  • Brady emphasizes that fan engagement starts with integrating student-athletes into the local community through service projects and events, fostering support that extends beyond athletic performance (01:56).
  • Quote:
    “When they see [student-athletes] out there serving and giving back, they’re more likely to come and engage with those teams and support the kids they already know.” – Brady Pond (01:56)

Integrating Fan Engagement into the AD Role

• Weekly Planning & Student Connection
  • Brady explains that fan engagement isn’t a daily checklist but is part of weekly planning, with efforts focused on connecting students to events and drives for student section participation (03:29).
  • Highlights the importance of promoting less-publicized teams to ensure all programs receive attention.

Tactics for Promotion and Engagement

• Leveraging Social Media Platforms
  • Instagram is highlighted as the main platform for engaging students, with Facebook serving parents and Twitter as a catch-all (05:49).
  • Quote:
    “Instagram for the kids, Facebook for the parents, and Twitter for everybody else.” – Brady Pond (05:49)
• Thematic Events & Student-Led Initiatives
  • Describes success with themed games, such as “Dress like a Cowboy” nights, complete with costumes, music, and incentives.
  • Warrior Captains Council: Captains from each sport help spread the word and encourage organic, peer-driven attendance (04:17).

Building Emotional Connection Beyond Team Success

• Event Experience Over Results
  • Focus on making games fun and “can’t-miss” events, irrespective of team records—think FOMO, themed nights, food incentives, etc. (06:48)
  • Quote:
    “If you have authentic buy-in…the community, when they support, they’ll support no matter what.” – Brady Pond (06:48)
• Maintaining Positive, Respectful Atmosphere
  • Clear guidelines for student sections and front-row students to promote positive cheering and sportsmanship (09:15).
  • Memorable Moment:
    “If I start standing up and I start inching closer to them, they’re kind of on high alert.” – Brady Pond (11:00)

Measuring Engagement and Success

• Character Development as a Metric
  • Uses a character curriculum (“Character Matters”) to assess the impact of athletic programming through leadership and character-building, not just attendance or wins (11:42).
  • Quote:
    “If I can walk up to a student athlete and say, ‘What's the word of the week?’ and they can tell me…that's a great way to measure success.” – Brady Pond (11:42)

Sustaining Momentum Year-Round

• Cross-Sport Support and Athlete Passes
  • Provides free passes to all student-athletes, encouraging cross-attendance among sports and building a year-round culture of support (14:28).
  • Notes the leadership effect: athletes attending different sports’ events draws in peers and broadens campus engagement.
  • Quote:
    “If the athletes support each other, then the friends of the athletes start to come…now the football kids are like, well, those basketball kids really supported us during football season. So we need to go and hit up a basketball game…” – Brady Pond (14:28)

Building School Culture and Inclusion

• Showcasing Clubs and Diverse Campus Groups
  • Events highlight various student organizations (e.g., dance teams, Earth Club, Native American Heritage Night), making athletics a platform for broader community inclusion (18:15).
  • Quote:
    “It’s about connecting all the dots in the grand scheme.” – Brady Pond (18:15)
• Brand Consistency and Community Pride
  • Strategic branding (“Reppin’ the Wood”) fosters identity; consistent colors/logos/uniforms used across sports.
  • Emphasis on making all athletes feel equally valued, regardless of sport prominence (21:17).
  • Quote:
    “We want the football team to look as good as the cross-country team...when Westwood gets off the bus, that orange and blue is popping…” – Brady Pond (21:17 & 23:51)

Technology and Delegation

• Adopting Tech Tools and Support Systems
  • Brady delegates tasks, utilizes technology for scheduling, and recruits student interns to manage social media. Values learning from others and delegating to maximize impact and efficiency (25:23).
  • Shout-out to his assistant, Deb Lee, as an essential behind-the-scenes contributor (27:03).
  • Quote:
    “The people that burn out are…people that try to do everything themselves and…aren't willing to ask for help.” – Brady Pond (29:13)

Guidance for New Athletic Directors

• Start Small. Ask for Help. Iterate.
  • Recommendation to focus on one or two manageable goals, reach out to peer ADs, and not be afraid to “steal” good ideas and adapt them. Emphasizes humility and continuous learning (29:13).
  • Quote:
    “Don’t be afraid to 'steal' something from another person…don’t be stubborn enough to keep doing it [if it stops working].” – Brady Pond (29:13)

The Role of Technology – PlayOn’s “Fan Zone”

• Discusses the promise of PlayOn’s “Fan Zone” platform to simplify fan content aggregation and social posting, aiming to save time and lower the digital learning curve for ADs (33:08).
• Quote:
  “I think technology can definitely be our friend.” – Brady Pond (34:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Seeing the good side of education-based athletics, seeing all the great stuff that kids are doing, is incredibly important.” – Scott Rosenberg (02:49)
• “Most of our student-athletes are the leaders on campus…spotlight could be a good thing, spotlight could be a bad thing. But it starts with those kids supporting each other.” – Brady Pond (14:28)
• “I think elite culture also starts at the top…if you can create a culture where a coach ends practice early so athletes can go watch another team, you’ve got a great culture at your school.” – Scott Rosenberg (16:53)
• “We want to make sure we’re representing that. And it goes with all the stuff we’re doing.” – Brady Pond (21:17)
• “You don't have 28 hours in the day, but sometimes the job feels like it's 28 hours long.” – Greg Vandermade (28:28)
• “Humility to reach out to your peers and get some perspective on how they're doing it, that's huge. That's absolutely huge.” – Greg Vandermade (31:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:56] – Brady defines fan engagement as community outreach and building real relationships.
• [03:29] – Weekly approach and integration of fan engagement into athletics calendar.
• [04:17] – Using social media and the Warrior Captains Council to mobilize students.
• [05:49] – Social media best practices (“Instagram for kids, Facebook for parents, Twitter for everyone else”).
• [06:48] – Event-based engagement and “FOMO” strategies during challenging seasons.
• [09:15] – Setting behavioral standards for student sections and maintaining positive environments.
• [11:42] – Alternative ways of measuring success, including character development.
• [14:28] – Sustaining engagement across seasons and promoting inter-team support.
• [18:15] – Examples of campus-wide inclusion—Native American Heritage Night, club competition.
• [21:17] – The power of branding, identity, and school pride.
• [25:23] – Tech tools, delegation, and maximizing support for busy ADs.
• [29:13] – Advice for new ADs: start small, be humble, and lean on your network.
• [33:08] – Discussion of PlayOn Sports’ “Fan Zone” and integrating new technology.

Conclusion

This episode provides a comprehensive, practical roadmap for high school athletic directors to build fan engagement, foster community pride, and develop student leadership. From focusing on community connections, leveraging social media and technology, and elevating school-wide inclusivity, to the essentials of humility and delegation, listeners gain actionable insights that can be adapted to varied school contexts. Whether starting out as an AD or looking for new ideas, the conversation offers both inspiration and concrete strategies for making high school athletics a vibrant, unifying part of the campus experience.