New Episode of BBOC: West Virginia University President Michael Benson
On the latest episode of JohnWallStreet Presents: Big Business on Campus, a college sports podcast powered by Playfly Sports and sponsored by Short’s Sports Travel Logistics, JohnWallStreet Founder Corey Leff and Playfly Sports Chairman Michael Schreiber sit down with West Virginia University President Michael Benson.
In this 40-minute conversation, we touch on:
The Correlation Between On-Field Success and Enrollment
Sports serve as the most visible touchpoint for prospective students and alumni, and a primary driver of media coverage. That visibility functions as both a branding engine and an enrollment lever.
“At my core I'm an academic. I'm a historian. I believe in the academic mission of our institution. But if I were to go out and do a sampling of [the] news coverage on West Virginia [University], probably north of 80% [of it is] going to be about athletics,” Benson said. “Athletics, in so many ways, is that first point of contact for people to get introduced to your school…There is a direct correlation between the exposure that you get from successful teams and an increase in applications.”
Team Travel, Handled.
College athletics travel leaves no margin for error. Every departure, arrival, and transfer impacts preparation, performance, and peace of mind. Short’s Sports Travel Logistics exists to remove that pressure.
As the fastest growing sports travel partner in collegiate athletics, Short’s supports more than 110 athletic departments and 1,600 teams with fully integrated commercial reservations, air charter, ground, and hotel solutions. Our team approach is built on proactive planning, real time visibility, and experienced people who understand the demands of game day.
Travel plans change. Weather shifts. Schedules move. When they do, our team is already working behind the scenes to adjust, communicate, and execute. No guesswork. Just accountability.
Programs partner with Short’s because we deliver consistency when it matters most. Since 2020, more than 65 schools have chosen Short’s to manage their travel with confidence.
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All WVU Student Athletes Receiving In-State Tuition
WVU sits in a state without a population base or the corporate footprint many of its peers enjoy. Beginning this fall, the school is implementing a significant policy change that will reduce roster costs and enable its athletic department to redirect capital.
“We had it in the past, I don't know why it went away, but the fact that [our coaches can] now [offer] in-state tuition [to] every single student athlete on every single roster [will have] enormous consequences, especially for Olympic sports,” Benson said. The school’s baseball coach will no longer “have to worry about saying [he] can't afford this left-handed pitcher out of Atlanta, and now [he] can use [those newfound] resources for revenue share or investments in other areas of the program…This is a huge advantage.”
Leveraging Content Creators to Expand an Institutions Reach
Benson invited a prominent sports content creator to campus last fall. The goal was to expand the university’s visibility and introduce the school, and its game-day environment, to a newaudience.
“G Fed is his handle. He's got a half a million followers on Instagram [and] a very ardent following on YouTube…We had him down on the field, he got in with some of our frat boys here in Morgantown’ went to a couple bars, slept on someone's couch, and he details all this on YouTube,” Benson said. Well, “the reason I did that was not to promote me, [it was] to promote the institution. Because all of a sudden G Fed [has WVU in] his rankings —best game atmosphere, best tailgate— [and is talking about] our institution and [that] he loved his experience in West Virginia…I really consider that a big win for the institution.”
📺 Watch the full video on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube Page.
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
We’ll be back with the next episode of JohnWallStreet Presents: Big Business on Campus in two weeks. St. John’s University Vice President and Director of Athletics Ed Kull will be our guest.
In the meantime, make sure to check out our sponsor, Short’s Sport Travel Logistics—the fastest-growing company in collegiate athletics travel, and the trusted choice of over 108 athletic departments nationwide. Short’s simplifies every aspect of team travel (think: air charters, commercial flights, buses, and hotels) and helps to turn complex logistics into a competitive advantage.
Previous episodes of BBOC, including sit-downs with Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, Arizona AD Desiree Reed-Francois, Maryland AD Jim Smith, American Commissioner Tim Pernetti, Pittsburgh AD Allen Greene, Wake Forest AD John Currie, Kansas AD Travis Goff, Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris, Big Sky Conference Commissioner Tom Wistrcill, SMU AD Damon Evans, and Ohio State AD Ross Bjork can be found on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube channel.
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