If you’ve followed Vanderbilt Athletics since the departures of James Franklin and Kevin Stallings, it’s clear that the Commodore fan base, which is already the smallest in the SEC, has shrunk. The cause has and will continue to be debated by Vanderbilt fans and the administration alike. The result, however, is apparent: empty seats or worse, seats heavily occupied by fans of opposing teams. In recent years, home field advantage has been anything but during SEC games for the Football and Basketball programs.

However, all is not lost. In 2024, Vanderbilt Football had its first winning season since 2013, a 7-6 campaign capped off by a victory over Georgia Tech in the 2024 Birmingham Bowl. And with Vanderbilt Basketball, both the Men’s and Women’s teams have gotten off to scorching starts in non-conference play. Shea Ralph has the Commodores positioned to make their second straight NCAA Tournament with budding stars Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre. Mark Byington has taken a page out of the playbook of the Princess Bride’s Miracle Max and revived a “mostly dead” Men’s Basketball program with key transfer portal adds such as Jason Edwards, Devin McGlockton, Tyler Nickel, Grant Huffman and a freshman star-in-the-making in Tyler Tanner.

This surge of strong play across Vanderbilt Football and Basketball gives Vanderbilt University an opportunity it hasn’t had in nearly a decade: a chance to grow its fan base through the creation of new fans. Any discussion about Vanderbilt growing its fan base is pointless without a good on-field/on-court product. Vanderbilt has met its mark in this category.

The next step is more difficult. Already a stronghold for University of Tennessee at Knoxville alumni, who flock to the 615 after graduation, Nashville has recently become a melting pot of SEC fans as well as a destination for people across the country who don’t necessarily have a college sports allegiance. And Downtown Nashville is the busiest it has ever been.

Now comes the important question, “how can Vanderbilt grow its fan base in today’s transfer portal era of college athletics?” Here are some ways that Vanderbilt could create new fans, put more Black and Gold inside FirstBank Stadium and Memorial Gym, and re-establish itself in its home city:

Two of Vanderbilt’s best plays during the regular season came from local Nashville players. Defensive Lineman Glenn Seabrooks III, pride of Davidson Academy, channeled his inner Vince Wilfork with a majestic big man interception in the season-opener against Virginia Tech, which helped seal an overtime upset. In Vanderbilt’s monumental upset of No. 1 Alabama, Junior Sherrill, pride of Lipscomb Academy hauled in a stunning running catch in the end zone on fourth-and-one to help secure the victory and made arguably the greatest play in Vanderbilt Football history.

Two of Vanderbilt’s defensive anchors this season also hail from the great state of Tennessee. Safety CJ Taylor, pride of Warren County High School, flew all over the field in his final collegiate season and led Vanderbilt to a Birmingham Bowl Victory with a game-changing interception against Georgia Tech. After receiving a ton of interest from Power 4 teams at the end of last season, Taylor’s decision to return to Vanderbilt and lead the Commodores back to glory will be forever remembered by Commodore fans. Best of luck to CJ as he pursues an NFL career.

Alongside Taylor, Vanderbilt’s defense was also led by Linebacker Langston Patterson, pride of Christ Presbyterian Academy. Patterson remains one of the most underrated linebackers in the SEC and could start at many other SEC programs. His agility, grit, and versatility have him well positioned to play on Sundays in the coming years.

Looking at next season, Vanderbilt has added in-state talent with Safety Carson Lawrence (Chattanooga, TN) and Linebacker Austin Howard (Memphis, TN). In the portal, the Commodores also added Wide Receiver Chance Fitzgerald from Nolensville, TN.

There should always be local players in Black and Gold. Local in-state players have friends and families who can easily travel to home games. If Vanderbilt is able to continue to develop local talent, stories like those above will only continue and more local fans will be in the stands.

Local talent should also extend to the classroom. Currently, in-state students make up a small percentage of Vanderbilt’s student body and those that do attend Vanderbilt mostly come from private schools. This lack of in-state students also contributes to the high number of Vanderbilt graduates who move out of state each year.

To paraphrase a line from legendary former Middle Tennessee State Coach Boots Donnelly “Great students come in all shapes and sizes, son. You just gotta go out and find ‘em!” Vanderbilt University can still be an elite national university while boosting its in-state student body. These two things are not mutually exclusive. Students all across Tennessee dream of attending Vanderbilt. Find those students and admit them, whether it's public or private school, and those students will thrive just like those all across the country who get accepted into Vanderbilt. When Vanderbilt University was founded in 1873 to help bring the country back together, the state of Tennessee was chosen for a reason and in-state students should be a part of the university’s dream and vision.

Vanderbilt’s location should be used to its advantage. Nashville has become one of the fastest growing and most prominent cities in America. In the last two decades, Nashville has become a hub of healthcare and business. Vanderbilt should capitalize on Nashville’s growth through partnerships between the Anchor Impact collective and corporations within Nashville.

This fall, Vanderbilt launched a partnership with Jackalope Brewing (founded by Vanderbilt alum Bailey Spaulding) which has produced the delicious Conquer and Prevail Pale Ale. If you haven’t tried one already, they are available at Vanderbilt Athletics games. Anchor Impact has reported that they have a partnership with the Nashville Predators for the Women’s Volleyball Program. Partnerships like these should be the first of many for Vanderbilt and could help bring in some new fans.

There’s so much room for creativity. Whether it’s events like “Eat with the Offensive Line at Martin’s BBQ” or a promotion with FirstBank donating $500 to a local charity for every interception tp “Protect the Bank,” or even an outing to TopGolf with a team (the 2024 Vanderbilt Birmingham Bowl TopGolf Event was sold out and a success), associating a business or restaurant with Vanderbilt directly will only help the university.

Vanderbilt has some players with great stories. Quarterback Diego Pavia had no Power 4 offers coming out of high school. Tight End Eli Stowers was a four-star quarterback recruit at Texas A&M before hurting his shoulder and having to change positions at New Mexico State, with his faith acting as a crucial part of his perseverance. Linebacker Nick Rinaldi started playing football during his senior year of high school and is now one of the team’s best linebackers after joining the Commodores as a walk-on. Wide receiver Richie Hoskins was playing college lacrosse before walking onto Clark Lea’s squad and becoming a team captain. These are blue-collar, lunch pail, hard hat type players with personality and swagger that the team rallies around.

The local Nashville community should hear these stories. Whether it’s Kiwanis, Rotary Clubs, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, other civic organizations, teenagers without an official team to root for, or newer communities to Nashville like the Hispanic/Latino Community, Vanderbilt should put these players front row center so that those in Nashville can get to know them. These are stories that resonate with people. One of the best parts about the Vanderbilt Athletics Community is the accessibility of the players. The Commodores should make their players available to the surrounding Nashville area. Were Vanderbilt to do this, the local community would like what it sees.

Vanderbilt University has some of the most affordable tickets in town. With Titans fans balking at the latest PSL prices for the new football stadium downtown and the roller coaster play of the Predators, the Commodores currently have one of the best bargains in Nashville in terms of the product on the field and the price. Vanderbilt recently did a successful Grow the Game Campaign for the Women’s Basketball Program with $1 tickers that resulted in long lines of fans seeking player autographs postgame. These types of promotions should be done more often and would help create new fans.

Vanderbilt has a national alumni base. However, Vanderbilt usually focuses its alumni visits to Homecoming Weekend and Reunion Weekends. These weekends often come at points in the year where everyone is unable to attend. With alumni in major cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin, Vanderbilt should get creative. Why not select two home games a year where Vanderbilt has an “alumni takeover” where the university offers discounted tickets to out-of-town alumni for a basketball or football game? Who doesn’t want to come visit Nashville for a weekend? In smaller venues like FirstBank Stadium or Memorial Gymnasium, any additional fans can help create a home field advantage.

Nashville is a great sports city with several sports talk radio shows. Wouldn’t it be great if Vanderbilt had an alum who hosted a sports talk radio show? Well, it turns out Vanderbilt does have one, and a great one, to be exact. George Plaster, Class of 1981, is the Godfather of Tennessee Sports talk radio. For decades, he has dominated the airwaves and his show currently airs on 94.9 The Fan Monday-Friday from 3-5 p.m. CT. Plaster is one of the few Nashville radio hosts who regularly talks about Vanderbilt Athletics and he is always looking for new callers. Vanderbilt fans should make their voices heard on shows like Plaster’s and hit the open phone lines. More Vanderbilt talk on the radio airwaves will help maintain the Commodores’ relevance to local sports fans and may result in higher attendance at games. Wouldn’t you want to go see Diego Pavia play after hearing about him on the radio for the first time?

What better time to create a new narrative than when Vanderbilt’s major teams are winning? The last time that Vanderbilt had winning programs with postseason destinations in Football, Basketball, and Baseball was the 2011-2012 year. This is a crucial time for Vanderbilt Athletics and one that could completely reshape the fan base as we know it. It may never come again for several years, or never it all. It’s high time that a true home field advantage is created for these athletes who risk career ending injuries every practice and game. They deserve our respect and support. And it’s time for some new fans to come along for the ride and make Vanderbilt Athletics a destination in Nashville.

What would you like to see Vanderbilt University do to create new fans? Let us know!