How KU Athletics Builds the Ultimate Fan Experience

The screams of thousands echo through Allen Fieldhouse, bouncing off the walls right before tipoff. Fans chant together, swaying to the KU alma mater. For many, this is a familiar experience watching from the rafters and cheering on their Jayhawks. But behind the scenes sits the KU Athletics team, working to make the fan experience special for all who step onto the Hill. 

On a day-to-day basis, Kansas Athletics staff work on a variety of projects, planning for nearly every aspect of the fan experience. Maddie Allen-Kasten, director of fan experience for KU Athletics, spends her work day ensuring Jayhawk fans have the best time whether they are at Allen Fieldhouse or David Booth Memorial Stadium. 

“My first day here, our football team had not been successful in a long time, but if you looked at our marketing plan, we could have gone to the national championship. We were prepared, we planned for success,” Allen-Kasten said.

Win or lose, KU Athletics will find a way to make sure your experience is perfect all the way down to who you sit by and the emails you receive. With the help of their partner, FanThreeSixty they can now personalize your fan journey with data collected from your past experiences and then apply it to your future time at KU.

“FanThreeSixty provides data software solutions and communication products for brands from the sport industry to live entertainment and multi-use venues,” Kendra Goodman, senior marketing lead at FanThreeSixty said. 

“Our products can receive data from literally any source. The most commonly used are ticketing providers Ticketmaster, for example, Fanatics or Shopify merch data, email newsletter lists, and fans who download and opt-in to the mobile app,” added Goodman.

From the seats fans choose to the games they attend, FanThreeSixty helps KU Athletics collect and analyze key data to enhance the experience. Alongside the data collection process, protecting data privacy is also a top priority for both KU Athletics and FanThreeSixty.

“I have very strong opinions and thoughts on data privacy and data ethics because I've seen it go bad in other places. I've seen it not be done correctly in other places. So we're very mindful of that. We try to be as strong as we can in terms of data responsibility.” Allen-Kasten said.

With there being a growing interest in data collection with KU Athletics, AI is also becoming more valuable in their technology use. When it comes to AI FanThreeSixty takes a more human approach. 

“Our data science team actually builds machine-learning tools for tasks that are usually coupled with AI. So, we are instead using humans to develop algorithms that will predict on our behalf but not instead,” Goodman said.

While new technology is taking on a larger role behind the scenes, the KU Athletics fan experience is more than just the software. KU fans come from all over to experience the history and tradition the school holds when it comes to the fans. The energy not only comes from the people behind the scenes but also the events team that stands out at every game to help run game- day operations. 

KU student Samantha Seitz has sat as the KU Athletics Event Intern for the past three years. Having the opportunity to work on some of the largest events and gain a new perspective on the fan experience. The events team focuses on the data given to them from marketing and applies it day off while dealing with obstacles in real time. 

“For baseball, marketing looks at seating data and then we create a dedicated section just for students because they are throwing beers, and having a great time hyping up players. It is something new we have never dealt with so it is definitely a learning curve for us.” Seitz said

Adapting to change has always been a part of KU Athletics. With support from partners like FanThreeSixty and dedicated staff and fans, the university continues to set itself apart in fan experience and tailor it for every Jayhawk who walks onto campus.