Alumni branding in higher education often shows up in short bursts—a feature story, a campaign, a moment of pride. But watching Patrick Mahomes play at Arrowhead Stadium reveals what happens when a school treats alumni relationships as something ongoing instead of finished.
You see, most people go to Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play football. That makes sense, because Patrick Mahomes does things on the field that don’t look possible for most people. I go to a lot of Chiefs games too. Sitting through long games and cold weather gives you time to notice things, especially if you pay attention to how brands show up in public.
The Texas Tech logo, the Double T, keeps appearing on the big screens around the stadium all game long. At first, it feels like background noise, but after a while, it starts to feel intentional.
And it is.
Texas Tech has made a clear choice about how it shows up once one of its former students becomes famous, and that choice shows where many colleges get alumni branding wrong.
Why Texas Tech’s approach works.
Patrick Mahomes went to Texas Tech University before he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. What matters now isn’t just how successful he became, but how the school stayed connected to him over time.
He still comes back to campus, speaks at events, supports scholarships, and—together with his wife, Brittany—has given $5 million to help improve football facilities and the stadium. Texas Tech treats all of this as an ongoing relationship, not something that ended when he left school.
Because of that, Mahomes feels like part of the school’s current story, not just proof of something it once produced. You can see this clearly at Arrowhead Stadium, where Texas Tech’s logo feels like it belongs. It feels earned and built over years of shared history and steady support.
This is how alumni influence grows stronger: by staying close, showing up often, and letting time do some of the work.
Where colleges and universities get alumni branding wrong.
Many colleges and universities handle alumni stories in short bursts. A successful graduate appears in a magazine, a campaign video, or an annual report, and then the story moves on. That approach fits how institutions work. It’s easier to plan, approve, and measure. But it turns real, ongoing relationships into finished stories.
When that happens, influence stops building. People don’t get more familiar with the school. The brand never settles into the background. Each appearance has to start from scratch. Texas Tech avoids this by staying visible as Mahomes’ story keeps going, so the brand doesn’t need to reintroduce itself. It’s already there.
What the halo effect means for colleges.
People usually don’t change how they feel about a school all at once. Feelings build slowly through repeated exposure. A teenager in Kansas City watching a Chiefs game isn’t thinking about colleges. But seeing the Texas Tech logo week after week makes the name feel familiar. Over time, familiar starts to feel credible. Credible starts to feel important.
That slow buildup is the halo effect.
It doesn’t show up clearly in charts or dashboards, but it shapes how schools are remembered and trusted over time. Schools that understand this stop chasing big moments and focus on steady presence.
How this works without a superstar athlete.
Most schools will never have a Patrick Mahomes, but…every school has former students who are doing meaningful work, building audiences, and earning trust in their fields. The advantage comes from noticing where that influence already exists and supporting it consistently.
That kind of support takes patience. It means letting stories stay unfinished and people stay human. It also means accepting that results won’t always be easy to measure.
But that’s how meaning forms. Brands become relevant by staying close to people who already matter in the world, with strategy helping guide that closeness instead of trying to replace it.
When a school has earned a place near real energy—through sports, research, art, leadership, or service—it gets permission to show up where attention already lives. The real test comes after influence appears. Does the school notice it? Does it keep showing up after the excitement fades? Does it let momentum grow instead of ending the story too early?
Because sometimes the smartest strategy isn’t creating the spotlight at all. It’s realizing the stadium is already full, the cameras are already rolling, and the brand already belongs on the field.
FAQ about alumni branding in higher education.
Does marketing celebrity alumni increase college applications?
Not in a direct or simple way. Students don’t usually choose a school just because a famous person went there. But visible alumni can shape how a school feels over time, making it seem more familiar, credible, and worth exploring.
What is the halo effect in higher education branding?
It’s when positive feelings about a person slowly transfer to the school connected to them, shaping perception long before someone seriously evaluates the institution.
Is this only relevant for big athletic programs?
No. Alumni influence exists in business, the arts, research, advocacy, and community leadership. In many cases, it matters even more in smaller or niche spaces.
How can smaller institutions use alumni branding well?
By paying attention to where their alumni already have influence and supporting that work honestly, instead of forcing institutional messages onto real-life stories.
What’s the biggest mistake colleges make with alumni stories?
Treating them as one-time content moments instead of long-term relationships that build familiarity and trust over time.
How do you measure success if it doesn’t show up in dashboards?
By looking for changes in brand familiarity, sentiment, earned attention, and relevance, signals that point to long-term impact even when they can’t be tied directly to clicks or conversions.
