2025-26 NACMA Membership Survey
210 member responses
Key takeaways
- 1
Members love NACMA. Our Net Promoter Score is 51, with 59.0% saying they would strongly recommend us and only 8.1% giving a low score.
- 2
Institutional support is strong. 93.3% of members say their employer pays for their membership.
- 3
The biggest value drivers are the professional network and convention access. Opportunity to broaden professional network is rated critical or very important by 91.0% of members.
- 4
Only 57.0% of members know about the Online Library Tools. That is a clear awareness gap we can close.
At a glance
Total responses
100.0%210/210
Completed surveys
Strong recommenders (9-10)
59.0%124/210
Net Promoter Score 51
Employer-paid membership
93.3%196/210
Planning to attend Convention
60.5%127/210
Engage weekly or monthly
51.9%109/210
Know about library tools
57.0%118/207
Awareness gap
Satisfied with Revenue Generation
77.1%162/210
Very satisfied plus satisfied
Members with 6+ years
40.5%85/210
31 first-year
Would you recommend NACMA?
Members rated how likely they are to recommend NACMA membership to a colleague, on a scale from 0 to 10.
Net Promoter Score
51
Strong recommenders minus low scores
Strong recommenders (9-10)
59.0%
124 of 210
Mild fans / Low scores
32.9% / 8.1%
7-8 / 0-6
32 · 1.0%
42 · 1.0%
56 · 2.9%
67 · 3.3%
732 · 15.2%
837 · 17.6%
940 · 19.0%
1084 · 40.0%
Pillar satisfaction
How satisfied members are with NACMA's tools and training in each pillar, plus how relevant each pillar feels to their day-to-day role. Lower average rank means more relevant.
Very satisfiedSatisfiedNeither satisfied nor dissatisfiedDissatisfiedVery dissatisfied
Revenue Generationn=210
Fan Developmentn=210
Brand Managementn=210
Ranked #1
Fan Development
1.73
average rank, n=182
Ranked #2
Revenue Generation
1.77
average rank, n=182
Ranked #3
Brand Management
2.50
average rank, n=183
Engagement and tenure
How often members engaged with NACMA this past year
Weekly27 · 12.9%
Monthly82 · 39.2%
A few times/year71 · 34.0%
Rarely29 · 13.9%
How long members have been with NACMA
This is my first year31 · 14.8%
2-3 years57 · 27.1%
4-5 years37 · 17.6%
6-10 years37 · 17.6%
11 or more years48 · 22.9%
Who pays for next year's membership
Yes, my institution covers the cost of my membership196 · 93.3%
No, I pay for my membership personally.9 · 4.3%
Not sure (please specify)5 · 2.4%
Who knows about the Online Library Tools
Yes118 · 57.0%
No89 · 43.0%
What benefits matter most
Benefits ranked by the share of members who rated them critical or very important.
CriticalVery importantSomewhat importantNot importantN/A
Opportunity to broaden professional network91.0% critical or very important, n=210
Access to NACMA Convention85.2% critical or very important, n=209
Research related to college athletics & fans78.0% critical or very important, n=209
Access to NACMA Online Community71.6% critical or very important, n=208
NACMA Mentorship program57.4% critical or very important, n=209
NACMA Awards program57.1% critical or very important, n=210
Non-convention webinars / virtual events48.3% critical or very important, n=209
NACMA Gameplan email37.7% critical or very important, n=207
Access to NACMA Slack Channel37.6% critical or very important, n=210
NACDA Daily Review email36.4% critical or very important, n=209
Athletics Administration Magazine18.6% critical or very important, n=210
What members want to learn
Topics members want to see in future programming, ranked by critical or very important ratings.
CriticalVery importantSomewhat importantNot importantN/A
In-venue fan experience94.3% critical or very important, n=209
Fan research and trends91.8% critical or very important, n=208
Attendance86.6% critical or very important, n=209
Leadership development83.7% critical or very important, n=209
Virtual/digital fan engagement80.4% critical or very important, n=209
Career management (growth/job seeking)76.9% critical or very important, n=208
Brand management71.8% critical or very important, n=209
Sales and fundraising campaign development70.2% critical or very important, n=208
Creative content development65.6% critical or very important, n=209
Mentorship opportunities65.4% critical or very important, n=208
Multimedia rights and sponsorship65.2% critical or very important, n=207
Licensing and other revenue contracts65.1% critical or very important, n=209
Business intelligence tools64.4% critical or very important, n=208
Networking best practices59.9% critical or very important, n=207
Mental health and wellness57.2% critical or very important, n=208
Diversity, inclusion and social justice initiatives52.2% critical or very important, n=209
Mentorship program
Have members joined the mentorship program?
Yes127 · 62.3%
No (please explain why not)77 · 37.7%
76 members shared why they have not participated. See Member comments.
Are members currently job hunting?
No153 · 73.9%
Yes, and in college athletics45 · 21.7%
Yes, but not in college athletics9 · 4.3%
Brand and social attitudes
How members feel about companies that support social justice initiatives.
Strongly agreeAgreeNeither agree nor disagreeDisagreeStrongly disagree
Attitudes influenced by social justicen=206
More likely to recommend if support social justicen=206
Convention plans
Are members planning to attend the 2026 NACMA Convention?
Yes127 · 61.1%
No56 · 26.9%
Not sure (please specify)25 · 12.0%
Why some members are not attending
Financial Decision28 · 50.0%
Other (please specify)17 · 30.4%
Personal Reasons11 · 19.6%
Who our members are
Gender
Male124 · 59.6%
Female84 · 40.4%
Age
21-2986 · 41.3%
30-3975 · 36.1%
40-4927 · 13.0%
50-5918 · 8.7%
60 or older2 · 1.0%
Ethnicity
White163 · 78.7%
Black or African American20 · 9.7%
Hispanic or Latino12 · 5.8%
Multiracial5 · 2.4%
Asian5 · 2.4%
Prefer not to answer2 · 1.0%
Children under 18
No150 · 72.1%
Yes58 · 27.9%
Ultimate career goal
Deputy Athletics Director64 · 31.1%
Senior Associate AD47 · 22.8%
Athletics Director34 · 16.5%
Associate AD30 · 14.6%
Director or Assistant Director18 · 8.7%
Other (please specify)8 · 3.9%
Assistant AD5 · 2.4%
Member comments