This is a recap of our six-part storytelling series, filled with real-world examples for telling your athletic department’s stories.

August 20, 2026

College athletic departments are filled with stories from the people that are involved.

They have student-athletes building identities beyond their sport. Coaches shaping programs. Staff members doing important work behind the scenes. Alumni carrying their experiences into life after college. Donors creating opportunities. Fans building traditions and memories that can span generations.

The challenge is consistently finding, collecting, and telling those stories while everything else on the athletics calendar keeps moving.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve shared 30 different storytelling ideas built around six of the most important groups connected to an athletic department: student-athletes, coaches, alumni, donors, staff, and fans.

Consider this the guide to all six. Use the individual posts when you need specific formats, interview questions, examples, and timing. Then keep reading for one way to turn all six audiences into a year-round storytelling calendar.

1. Student-Athletes

[Five Ways to Tell Your Student-Athletes’ Stories →]

Student-athletes are the most obvious source of stories inside an athletic department, but too often their coverage begins and ends with what they accomplish in competition. Go beyond the statistics. Tell stories that help people understand who your student-athletes are, what shaped them, what they’re pursuing away from their sport, and what matters to them.

The benefit extends well beyond giving current athletes more recognition. These stories introduce fans to the people they’re cheering for, show recruits and families the experience your program provides, and create stories student-athletes will carry with them long after graduation.

Think: personality, background, academic interests, life experiences, relationships, accomplishments, and the person behind the athlete.

Best Opportunities: Preseason, in-season personality content, academic milestones, senior seasons, graduation, and summer.

2. Coaches

[Five Ways to Tell Your Coaches’ Stories →]

Coaches may be the most quoted people in your department while still being some of the least known. Fans hear their reaction to Saturday’s game. They don’t always hear what they believe, how they lead, why they coach, or what they’re trying to build. Coach storytelling can change that.

From a recurring Coach’s Corner to a New Coach Q&A, preseason interviews, milestone reactions, and postseason reflections, the goal is to give fans access to the person and philosophy behind the program—not simply another postgame quote. Done consistently, that familiarity can build trust between a coach and the people following their program.

Think: philosophy, leadership, personality, program vision, milestones, and reflection.

Best opportunities: Coaching hires, preseason, throughout the competitive season, milestone moments, and immediately after the season.

3. Alumni

[Five Ways to Tell Your Alumni Stories →]

Your department may have a few hundred current student-athletes. It likely has tens of thousands of former ones. That makes alumni one of the largest audiences connected to any athletic department—and storytelling provides a reason to reconnect.

A “Where Are They Now?” feature can introduce fans to who a former athlete became. Hall of Fame profiles preserve program history. Team reunions bring an entire generation back into the conversation. Career stories demonstrate where the student-athlete experience can lead. The goal isn’t to make every alumni story an immediate ask. Give people reasons to feel remembered, valued, and connected. Over time, that connection can strengthen nearly every way alumni support the program.

Think: reconnection, nostalgia, legacy, career success, program history, and life after athletics.

Best opportunities: Summer content gaps, Hall of Fame weekends, fall homecoming, team reunions, anniversaries, and graduation.

4. Donors

[Five Ways to Tell Your Donors’ Stories →]

Every gift has two stories. There’s the story of why someone gave, and there’s the story of what their support made possible. Both are worth telling.

Donor storytelling moves beyond campaign totals and checks to introduce the people, motivations, and impact behind philanthropy. Why did someone decide to establish a scholarship? What does a renovated facility mean for the athletes using it? Why has a family supported the same program for generations? Those stories recognize existing supporters while showing everyone else what investing in your student-athletes can accomplish.

Think: motivation, generosity, impact, legacy, relationships, and opportunities created.

Best opportunities: Giving days, scholarship announcements, facility openings, donor events, campaign milestones, and year-end giving.

5. Staff

[Five Ways to Tell Your Staff Stories →]

College athletics doesn’t function without the people whose names rarely make the headline. Athletic trainers. Academic advisors. Strength coaches. Equipment staffs. Administrators. Faculty members. Facilities crews. Communications teams. Athletic directors. They all shape the student-athlete experience.

Staff storytelling pulls back the curtain on how an athletic department actually works while recognizing people whose contributions can otherwise be invisible to fans. Whether you’re profiling an athletic director in first person, introducing the faculty members supporting your athletes academically, or simply showing fans what a day in someone’s job actually looks like, these stories help put people behind the department’s logo.

Think: people behind the scenes, expertise, career paths, academic support, leadership, and departmental culture.

Best opportunities: Summer and other competition-light periods, employee anniversaries, academic milestones, staff recognition dates, and throughout the year.

6. Fans

[Five Ways to Tell Your Fans’ Stories →]

Fans are part of the story. Every department has someone who has held season tickets for decades. Families who have attended games across generations. Fans whose friendships, relationships, traditions, or even decision to attend the university began because of athletics. Ask them about it.

Why did they become a fan? What’s the one game they’ll never forget? Who was their favorite player? What has happened in their life because this program became part of it? A simple prompt can uncover stories that demonstrate the impact of college athletics better than any marketing slogan could.

Think: loyalty, memories, traditions, family, community, and belonging.

Best opportunities: Homecoming, rivalry weeks, season-ticket campaigns, anniversaries, championship reunions, and throughout the competitive season.

Putting It All on the Calendar

Thirty story ideas can sound like thirty more things to do, but they don’t need to be.

The goal isn’t to tell every type of story every month. It’s to recognize that different parts of the athletics calendar naturally create opportunities to feature different people. Think about the year in two-month sprints.

(And stay tuned, we have a 12-month PDF digital storytelling download coming soon.)

👩‍🏫 July & August: Introduce the People

New seasons bring new faces and renewed attention.

Prioritize: Student-Athletes + Coaches + Staff

Introduce newcomers. Go deeper with new coaches. Build preseason features. Let fans meet captains and returning leaders. Tell the stories of the staff members working behind the scenes to get everyone ready. This is your opportunity to establish the people and storylines fans will follow for the next several months.

🏟️ September & October: Reconnect the Community

Homecoming, alumni weekends, rivalry games, and fall traditions create natural nostalgia.

Prioritize: Alumni + Fans

Bring championship teams back together. Publish Hall of Fame profiles. Ask longtime supporters for their favorite memories. Find multigenerational fan families. Reconnect former student-athletes with the programs they helped build. The calendar is already creating the reason to tell these stories.

🍂 November & December: Show the Impact

Giving season shifts attention toward the people who support your department.

Prioritize: Donors + Alumni

Tell donors why their support matters. Show the student-athletes or programs affected by their generosity. Highlight legacy gifts and scholarship relationships. Pair fundraising communication with stories that demonstrate what support actually makes possible. Don’t just make the ask. Tell people why the investment matters.

❄️ January & February: Find the Stories Between the Games

The middle of the academic year is an opportunity to introduce fresh voices.

Prioritize: Student-Athletes + Coaches + Staff

Run personality-driven athlete profiles. Check in with coaches. Spotlight academic support staff and other people working behind the scenes. Use recurring series to maintain storytelling even when your communications calendar is dominated by games.

🌳 March & April: Capture the Moment

Championships, milestones, Senior Days, and seasons ending create emotion that won’t be as powerful three months later.

Prioritize: Student-Athletes + Coaches + Fans

Capture milestone reactions quickly. Ask seniors to reflect. Let coaches explain what a season meant. Find the fans and families who experienced those moments alongside them. Some stories can wait, but these shouldn’t.

🧑‍🎓 May & June: Go Beyond The Games

Graduation provides a natural transition from who student-athletes have been to who they’re becoming.

Prioritize: Student-Athletes + Alumni + Academic/Department Staff

Tell graduation stories. Highlight academic accomplishments. Introduce the professors and advisors who helped athletes reach commencement. Revisit alumni career pathways to show graduates what’s possible next. Then, as competition slows, start the cycle again.

Making Storytelling Repeatable

Storytelling Series: Athletes | Coaches | Alumni | Donors | Staff | Fans

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