There’s a blanket in my linen closet that was given to me by a friend when I was 18 years old. It has the logo of the college we attended on it, and I carried it with me to rainy Autumn football games. Like many people, I was a fan of college sports.
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As the coronavirus pandemic vaccinations are being distributed, the hope that life will return to normal grows, too. That hope includes the idea that people will be able to get together again to enjoy college sports. When they do, you’ll want to be ready—and there are several avenues that affiliate marketers can use to prepare for that time.
The best college sports affiliate programs include apparel promoting college teams, ticket sales, college sports recruiting websites, television sites, and sports betting entertainment sites. If you’re interested in any of these types of programs, read through the following list of the top ten college sports affiliate programs. At the end of the article, I’ll share some ways you can put these articles to work for you.
College Sports Affiliate Programs
- Fanatics/FansEdge
- PrimeSport
- Prep Sportswear
- Athletes USA
- Eastbay
- Fubo TV
- Wooter Apparel
- Vivid Seats
- The Action Network
- Online Sports
1. Fanatics/FansEdge
- URL: Fanatics Affiliate Program
- Commission: Up to 10%
- Cookie: Unknown
Fanatics is one of the largest online retailers for sports merchandise. This company specializes in team gear ranging from NCAA and NBA to NFL, NHL, and Nascar. Products include jackets, tee shirts, hats, face masks, sweatshirts, hoodies, and more.
This store offers 365-day returns, fan cash rewards, and frequent free shipping offers and sales. The website also has a sales tab and a tab where fans can get tickets to sports events.
The affiliate website is run through Impact Radius. Affiliates have access to data feeds and can link to any product page. Banners, text links, and product ads are also available to help with marketing.
One interesting thing about Fanatics is that it has a sister company, FansEdge, which targets a younger age group and has its own affiliate program. The FansEdge affiliate program provides an 8% commission rate and has a 7-day cookie window, and it’s also offered through Impact Radius.
Why You Should Promote Fanatics/FansEdge: Between Fanatics and FansEdge, affiliates can reach a large demographic of sports lovers. Products include items for both college teams and national sports. This company offers 365-day returns and frequent free shipping offers.
2. PrimeSport
- URL: PrimeSport Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: 30 days
PrimeSport is a ticket-selling website that offers tickets for a variety of sports events. Customers can get tickets here for pro events, college events, motorsports events, and even events such as the Kentucky Derby. The website includes a sports calendar and travel packages, as well as a search bar that customers can use to search for events in a large number of locations.
This company runs its affiliate program through Affiliate Window. Banner ads, text links, and a live ticket feed are available for affiliate marketers.
Why You Should Promote PrimeSport: PrimeSport sells tickets for a wide variety of sports and makes it easy for customers to shop for sporting event tickets by city. The commission rate isn’t listed, though, so it’s difficult to tell how much you could make with this company.
3. Prep Sportswear
- URL: Prep Sportswear Affiliate Program
- Commission: 15%
- Cookie: Unknown
Prep Sportswear sells customized fan gear and sportswear for high school, college, and pro sports teams. It also sells gear for golf destinations, Greek teams, military teams, vintage teams, and more. This company has more than 1 million sports stores set up under its umbrella.
The affiliate program is administered through ShareASale. Links and banner ads are available to help affiliate marketers promote the products. The average order value is $67. Affiliates also get monthly newsletters with information about upcoming events, product announcements, and updates, and they can get bonuses based on their performance, network reach, and first-time sales.
Why You Should Promote Prep Sportswear: Prep Sportswear has a decent commission rate and presents affiliates with the opportunity to earn bonuses. This company also has more than 1 million stores online, and the average order value is decent.
4. Athletes USA
- URL: Athletes USA Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: 45 days
Athletes USA is a recruiting website for college sports. The network includes more than 20,000 coaches in more than 20 sports listed with the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA. Interested athletes can apply here, as well as coaches who are looking for talent.
One nice thing about this company is that it helps high school students get sports scholarships to colleges that can help them further their education. So far, this company has saved students more than $100 million in tuition costs.
Athletes USA runs its own affiliate program. Affiliates can promote any page they like, and they can promote to social media platforms as well as on a blog or webpage. Premade creatives aren’t yet available but will be coming soon. The commission rate isn’t listed, but affiliates can check their earnings using a personal account link.
Why You Should Promote Athletes USA: Athletes USA matches high school students with college sports coaches and helps students get college sports scholarships.
5. Eastbay
- URL: Eastbay Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: Unknown
Eastbay sells athletic equipment, apparel, and footwear produced for both high school and college teams. This company sells to all 50 states and has individual team stores in 120 countries around the globe.
The affiliate program is run through Impact. It’s free to join. The affiliate commission rate isn’t listed, but interested affiliates are encouraged to contact the company with their questions. Ads, text links, and product links can be used to help promote the products. Affiliates can own their own virtual sports stores with this company.
Why You Should Promote Eastbay: Although the commission rate and cookie length aren’t listed, this company encourages questions from affiliates. Eastbay also sells products around the world.
6. Fubo TV
- URL: Fubo TV Affiliate Program
- Commission: $30 per subscription
- Cookie: 30 days
Fubo TV is a broadcast service that utilizes the internet instead of cables. This service provides access to movies, televised college and pro sports events, news, and more. The basic package costs around $60 per month and provides customers with around 100 channels of television.
This company launched a European presence with its Fubo TV Espana in 2018, and in 2019, it added a free sports option for sports lovers, called the Fubo Sports Network. Fubo TV is also available in Canada, and customers can get up to 30 hours of cloud DVR storage.
The affiliate program is run through Impact Radius.
Why You Should Promote Fubo TV: This company provides premium sports viewing options without a need for cable television, including an exclusive sports network and local and regional sports networks. Affiliates are paid a flat-rate commission.
7. Wooter Apparel
- URL: Wooter Apparel Affiliate Program
- Commission: 20%
- Cookie: 30 days
Wooter sells team sports apparel, with products for groups like college or high school sports teams, leagues, tournaments, schools, and facilities. Customers can shop in categories such as team uniforms, custom apparel, or designs.
The website includes a tab for wholesale options, as well as a tab for vendors. This company also provides a best-price guarantee.
Wooter runs its affiliate program through Refersion. People who partner with Wooter can act as brand ambassadors or as affiliate marketers. Affiliates are provided with banner ads and other marketing materials.
Why You Should Promote Wooter: This company offers one of the best commission rates I’ve seen in this industry. Wooter also offers a best-price guarantee for customers.
8. Vivid Seats
- URL: Vivid Seats Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: 30 days
Vivid Seats is an online ticket venue for sports events, including the MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, and NCAA, as well as other events such as theater presentations and concerts. This company lists more than 50 types of events under its NCAA category alone.
The website shows trending events, as well as events near customer locations. This company also offers a buyer guarantee to ensure that tickets are delivered on time, that they will be valid and authentic, that their transaction will be secure, and that the order will be accurate. Vivid Seats has a refer-a-friend program and a rewards program, too.
Vivid Seats runs its own affiliate program. Affiliates have access to banner ads, and they can deep-link to an event on the marketplace.
Why You Should Promote Vivid Seats: Vivid Seats offers a buyer guarantee, a rewards program, and a friend referral program. More than 50 events are listed for the NCAA category.
9. The Action Network
- URL: The Action Network Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: Unknown
The Action Network is a sports analysis company specifically for the sports betting community. This includes fantasy sports teams for both pro and college categories. It features tools, data, real-time scores, odds and picks tracking, public betting trends, DFS software, and more.
The website also includes information such as how to bet, podcasts, a newsletter, and a betting calculator.
The affiliate program is run through ShareASale.
Why You Should Promote The Action Network: The Action Network provides betting insight tools for sports betting, with a lot of useful information.
10. Online Sports
- URL: Online Sports Affiliate Program
- Commission: 10-14%
- Cookie:60 days
Online Sports carries around 100,000 sports items from an enormous selection of teams, including college sports as well as the NFL, MBL, NBA, NHL, and Nascar. Customers can shop by sports that range from billiards and martial arts to basketball and soccer. They can also shop by brand, players, equipment, and more. The website has a special tag for sales and clearance items, too.
The affiliate program is run through both ShareASale and Commission Junction. Affiliates are provided with banners, text links, and data feeds. The average order value is $125.
Why You Should Promote Online Sports: The product selection is great, and the number of teams that use this company is immense. Affiliates can choose between two affiliate networks, and the average order value is nice, too
Affiliate Website Ideas
Now that you’ve read through this list of the top ten college sports affiliate programs, do you know how you’re going to use them with your affiliate websites? There are a lot of ways this can be done, and pulling these programs into your current efforts can be easier than you might think.
For example, you might have a website that focuses on footwear. A website like this one could feature some of the programs listed above, including Eastbay. This type of website could also promote handmade leather baby shoes, hiking boots, arch supports, women’s designer shoes, quirky socks, and even outlying businesses with interesting names, such as Sandals Resorts.
A second idea is a website for sports-related entertainment. Sports betting websites like The Action Network, televised sports like those found on Fubo TV, and sports events tickets such as those sold by Vivid Seating or PrimeSports could all be included here. You could also feature sports-related video games and the consoles to play them on.
A final idea is a website dedicated to helping high school students achieve their dreams. Athletes USA from the list above could be included here, as well as programs for student loans, dormitory life, online tutoring, and job boards.
Boost Your Affiliate Earnings
These 10 affiliate programs are just the beginning of what's possible. There are hundreds of ways to earn affiliate commissions with your website, including product reviews, top 10 lists, how-to guides, and more
But what about traffic and conversions? How do you make sure your affiliate links get clicked?
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Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Nathaniell and I'm the owner of One More Cup of Coffee. I started my first online business in 2010 promoting computer software and now I help newbies start their own businesses. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!
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