SBJ College: Wendy’s dunks its dated March Madness playbook

And so, the final newsletter of March is here.

I’m headed off to Indianapolis for the men’s Final Four this week, while my colleague Rachel Axon will have things handled on the women’s side from Phoenix.

Be sure to drop us a line if you’re in town.

Wendy’s is leaning into the dunk.

Yes, the basketball-themed dunk, of course, but also the combo of slamming a French fry into a Wendy’s Frosty.

“We took a completely different and fresh approach this year with our message,” Wendy’s Chief Marketing Officer Lindsay Radkoski told Sports Business Journal of its March Madness advertising approach. “... There’s a lot of people out there talking about hamburgers at this moment. And we were in a hamburger wars thing a couple weeks ago, and that’s a lot of fun. But one of the things that’s super unique to Wendy’s is that our customers dunk fries in Frosties.

“We saw this opportunity where dunks are the most epic energy-giving moment of the game, and it’s something that people love about our brand, we just realized, ‘How did we not see this synergy in the past?’”

Wendy’s has long been involved in college sports, with participation in the NCAA’s corporate champions program is entering its eighth year. That’s seen the company advertise and activate in myriad ways around March Madness, but this year is a bit different.

A new playbook

Radkoski noted the company shifted its focus away from broadcasters, former players and other stalwarts to current athletes, thanks to the advent of NIL. Its first roster of college athletes for March Madness includes Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Arizona’s Breya Cunningham and UConn’s Sarah Strong.

“This is the first year we’ve really played that card in a big way,” Radkoski said. “Part of that was just for us first watching the NIL landscape to figure out what’s going to stick, how long is it going to stick? Where are people going to stub their toe? How can we learn from others?

“As the social and influencer world has also evolved where there’s subcultures and micro-influencers, and people want to see their local celebs on social media, the idea of it doesn’t have to always be the ‘A++ person.’ It allows a lot more people to get in the conversation.”

These efforts have been matched in real time — part of the rationale for Wendy’s approach this year and planning to sign players during the tournament.

Take St. John’s G Dylan Darling, who propelled the Red Storm to the Elite Eight thanks to a buzzer-beating layup that downed Kansas.

A group of Wendy’s marketing reps were tuned into the games when Darling’s shot fell, beginning a swift process of matching the company with Darling through its creative agency of record, VML, and Postgame, an NIL and sports marketing-centric group, that is helping wade through the logistics of signing college players to endorsement deals.

Darling had a deal signed and posted a Wendy’s promo video a day later.

“This approach allows us to learn so much about a different playbook,” Radkoski said. “To me, it feels more modern that it’s tied to using athletes as influencers on a micro level and getting more of them involved.”

Duke’s misery is UConn’s gain — and set social media ablaze over the last week.

Trailing by two with under 10 seconds remaining, a swiped outlet pass and a near-logo 3-pointer from freshman Braylon Mullins sent the Huskies to an iconic victory over the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils. The shot earned UConn a spot in the Final Four and the top spot in this week’s College Sports Pulse Rankings.

“The Huskies’ last-second win is exactly why sponsors can’t get enough of live sports,” said Clay Owen, professor at South Carolina’s College of Information and Communications. “Moments like this drive massive engagement and real value. UConn hit a game-winning shot and instantly owned the national conversation.”

Other nuggets in this week’s College Sports Pulse Rankings, which measures social media reaction to programs across the enterprise during a confined time stretch, include:

• UConn recorded more than 5.2 million total engagements from March 24-30, while Duke was second with about 1.4 million total engagements.
• Bleacher Report’s post of UConn coach Dan Hurley’s reaction to Mullins’ shot raked in 670,000 total engagements and 13,600 comments.
• Illinois moved up to the No. 2 slot following its defeat of Iowa in Chicago as it returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2005 (Iowa slid to the No. 7).
• Michigan came in at No. 5 after it throttled Tennessee on Sunday. Coach Dusty May’s squad will take on Arizona, this week’s No. 8 team, in this weekend’s Final Four.

College Sports Pulse Rankings Top 10:

1. UConn: 100
2. Illinois: 75.2
3. Duke: 61.5
4. Purdue: 61.1
5. Michigan: 47.2
6. Houston: 45.9
7. Iowa: 43.9
8. Arizona: 40.7
9. Nebraska: 39.5
10. Iowa State: 36.4

Explaining the College Sports Pulse Rankings

The College Sports Pulse debuted following Selection Sunday through a partnership between South Carolina and Sports Business Journal.

The Pulse analyzes millions of posts across major social media platforms to measure how much attention each team is generating in the national social media conversation and how fans are reacting to it (positive or negative).

Three key measures — net sentiment, volume (number of posts) and engagements (likes, shares, etc.) — are gathered through the process before being run through a proprietary formula that determines overall influence on a 0-100 scale.

In case you missed it this morning, the Big 12 is the first FBS conference in the country to consider adding women’s flag football.

The league is looking to begin play in 2028, while at least six schools are slated to be part of the first season (exact participants are still being worked out).

I caught up with Scott Draper, the conference’s chief football and competition officer, to discuss why the Big 12 may add flag football when other schools are cutting back on expenses and what people can expect from the decision.

Answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

SBJ: Can you walk me through why the Big 12 was exploring this and what that process looked like?

Scott Draper: “As you know, our boss [Commissioner Brett Yormark] is certainly an innovator, but we’ve always been an innovator since he’s been here and thinking outside the box. This is just a natural extension of what that growth mindset that he has is. Flag is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. They have about 60% growth year over year. There’s 39 states that are currently sponsoring it [at the high school level] and, of course, it’s going to be in the 2028 Olympics.

“As we’ve looked at it strategically, even before the partnership with the NFL, we think this is a natural extension of what we’re currently doing to grow in the Big 12, then the partnership with the NFL comes into play. It’s well documented what they’re doing around flag. ... It really helps with their help and focus on flag. With our focus on flag, we’ll be able to really accelerate the growth of the sport not only at the collegiate level, but at the high school level.”

SBJ: Do you have a sense of how many teams will participate yet, or is that a work in progress?

SD: “Where we are now is that we’re actively exploring with our membership, what exactly that might look like. We do have teams that are ready to go. The purpose of us to really get this out and talk more about it is to share our intention of [adding] women’s flag for the 2028 competition season.”

SBJ: Can you explain the Big 12’s relationship with the NFL and why it was relevant in these discussions?

SD: “It has four pillars. One is officiating partnership focusing on training and accountability measures, pipeline, growth of the officiating profession, attracting young officials. The second pillar is women’s flag. The third pillar is technology-based. Obviously, they’re at the cutting edge of all football and sports technology, whether it’s player wearables or officiating matters or health and safety measures. We have already partnered with them on a number of initiatives to help them vet their initiatives. ... And then the fourth pillar is international growth, our international growth, and tapping into their expertise to help us continue to grow our football.

“... This is an extension of that partnership, to take their lead. All the great work that they’re doing on flag to grow the game of football is something that we believe is germane to the growth of the Big 12. For us, we’re doubling down on our commitment to women’s sport. I think you’ve heard that before from Brett, but this effort is really an extension of us doubling down on growing opportunities for women at the collegiate level.”

• Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade is retiring after leaving a lasting imprint on college sports (especially basketball) over a 45-year career.
• Former Jets personnel exec Greg Nejmeh is set to be named president of Accelerate Sports Ventures. Accelerate works with clients like Penn State and Boston College around rev share infrastructure, revenue generation and strategic and corporate partnerships.
• West Virginia’s renovation projects for the Milan Puskar Stadium are emblematic of the newfound emphasis on revenue generation when it comes to college venues, especially when it comes to premium options, SBJ’s Bret McCormick reports in this week’s magazine.
• Tennessee’s John Sorochan, a professor with an international reputation for his knowledge of turf playing surfaces, is among the people honored in SBJ’s Power Players: FIFA World Cup 2026.