Here's why JMU is making Marvel Superhero football helmets

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Schools will run campaigns or activations to try to improve ticket sales or in-game experiences just about every week. But last week, James Madison announced something you just don’t typically see at the college level.

On Nov. 22, the Dukes will unveil helmets with Marvel Superheros on one side, as part of a wide-ranging “Marvel Super Hero Day” event. The team will also sell Marvel (and JMU) adorned hats, shirts and other merch, create a Marvel-designed poster that features the JMU mascot, feature in-game activations and more.

Now, I’m not really a comic book guy, and I haven’t seen all the Marvel movies and shows. So I wasn’t sure if there was some secret Marvel/JMU connection I didn’t know about. DId Ironman canonically start his undergrad at James Madison? Did a variety of current animators and artists go to JMU?

Basically, I wondered: Why was JMU doing this?

I called Melissa Wyant, the program’s assistant athletic director for creative services and fan engagement, to find out why … and how.

Or least, that wasn’t why Wyant pursued the partnership.

Instead, she looked at similar campaigns from professional sports, as well as the campaign the University of Washington did last year with World of Warcraft.

“Marvel is a huge brand, and one that we’ve seen work with professional sports,” she said. “We wanted to understand what that might look like at the college level.”

This particular date is also ripe for a major promotion. Wyant told me that members of the department look at the schedule and potential campaigns months before the season starts, and she knew Nov. 22 would be one of the “most anticipated [games] in recent program history,” given the stature of Washington State.

So the school wanted to take a big swing and create a campaign that could excite fans, beyond the fact that JMU would be hosting a recognizable opponent. After all, so close to Thanksgiving, anything the school could do to create an atmosphere that students specifically wanted to be a part of would be critical.

But it’s one thing to just tell your fans to dress up in superhero costumes. It’s another thing altogether to be the first athletic department to specifically partner with (and license) Marvel.