The Bad Bunny Effect: 10 Implications for Higher Education and College Sport
- Timothy F. Bryson
- Feb 11
- 5 min read
The Super Bowl is the quintessential U.S. American sporting event.
And on the biggest stage, the Super Bowl spoke Spanish.
College sport should follow suit.
If you’re reading this, you’ve either seen the performance or heard about it.
Bad Bunny. The Benito Bowl.
The first Latino male artist to perform the halftime show
The first halftime show performed nearly entirely in Spanish
The second-most watched show of all time, averaging nearly 125 million viewers
55% of all NFL social views of the show came from international markets
Instant Classic.
And as he walked off the field, the content came rolling in.
These posts have been informative, necessary, and hilarious.
However…
I have yet to see content that talks about what this moment means for higher education and college sport, an intersection that continues to be overlooked as a site for diplomacy, exchange, and innovation.
So here's my contribution.
Ten ways the Bad Bunny effect should show up in higher education and college athletics.
From language infrastructure to NIL strategy. From study abroad to sponsorship deals.
From knowledge production to global competition.
Below I share how these industries should move next.
Language learning. Bad Bunny will spark more interest in Spanish for connection, comprehension, and/or community. For many students, language learning will feel less like an academic requirement and more like inclusion and belonging. Colleges can lean into this by framing language learning as a career skill, cultural capital, and a leadership competency. I am sure DuoLingo will hit historic numbers over the next few months.
Education abroad. Expect increased student and faculty interest in Latin America, including short-term, athlete-inclusive programs that accommodate training requirements and competition calendars. If I am a sports management faculty or a college athlete development practitioner, I am calling my institution’s study abroad office to begin brainstorming (and designing) experiences that center sport, identity, and diplomacy. These programs should be positioned as global leadership development and international career readiness. Having participated in an NBA Africa-focused study abroad experience, I can attest that sport-based global learning stretches worldview and equips students to navigate leadership and work across difference.
Knowledge production. Cultural moments shape what scholars choose to study and this one will echo in research. I anticipate we will see more dissertations, theses, and journal submissions centering Latinx and Hispanic student experiences, diaspora identity, and the politics of language and belonging. Sport will increasingly become a central lens in this scholarship because it is one of the most visible stages where culture, identity, and migration meet.
Multilingual infrastructure becomes a competitive advantage. Multilingual captions and subtitles are low-hanging fruit. The next evolution will reflect institutions who build language access into the athlete experience. This will allow departments to recruit better, communicate more effectively with families whose first language is not English, as well as support international and diaspora athletes more effectively. The strongest athletic departments will treat language access as part of performance, wellbeing, and belonging.
Internationalization through diplomacy, with sport as a vehicle. Sports diplomacy is becoming a trending topic and Bad Bunny's performance made diplomacy feel mainstream on a sports stage. Internationalization offices can leverage this moment to be more inclusive of sport as a legitimate vehicle for global learning, exchange, and relationship-building. This helps campuses move beyond internationalization as enrollment strategy and toward internationalization as connection and responsibility – especially in the Global South.
Sponsorships shift toward global brands and multilingual markets. As culture and sport continue to merge on the biggest platforms, sponsors will follow the audience. Athletic departments will increasingly pursue global brands who want access to multilingual communities and diasporic markets in addition to local reach. This expands the sponsorship playbook from regional exposure to international visibility. This is increasingly important as college sport continues to expand globally.
International competition expands across the Americas. Bad Bunny's performance reinforces a broader shift – U.S. college sport will increasingly look to Central and South America as meaningful sites for international competition, not just recruiting. As conferences and programs pursue global visibility and new fan markets, more games and events across the Americas will show up on the calendar. Our first glimpse will be in August 2026 which will be the first college football game played in South America. If I am an athletic director, I am calling College Football Brasil to see how I can get my football program on the schedule for the 2027 edition.
Partnerships grow across borders. Expect more cross-border partnerships, including research collaborations, exchange agreements, and sport-linked institutional relationships across Latin America. These partnerships will be driven by both mission and market: global learning goals on one side and global visibility and network-building on the other.
NIL globalizes – finally! Bad Bunny is a reminder that global influence is built through culture. More athletes will build NIL value through multilingual storytelling, music and identity, and cross-border audience building. Athletic departments that support global brand-building as a developmental skill will help all athletes expand opportunity. This is especially important for international college athletes who continue to have compromised opportunities due to current federal immigration law.
Donor and alumni engagement expands through diaspora pride. Cultural moments create emotional momentum and a renewed sense of pride and connection. Alumni associations and athletics departments can translate that into deeper relationships with diaspora alumni networks and global alumni chapters through rooted gatherings, mentorship, and community-building. Done well, this becomes an advancement strategy with meaning. I wonder how Indiana University is engaging the Cuban diaspora community.
Bad Bunny didn't just perform at halftime.
He reminded 125+ million viewers that America is more than the United States.
Geography lesson for most. But for all of us, a reminder to disrupt conventional thinking and an invitation to unlearn.
The U.S. National Football League is (going) global – as evidenced by the international game series, global markets program, international pathway program, and academies.
What once felt impossible is unfolding in real time.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is also (going) global – as evidenced by increased international competitions, international college athlete recruitment, and team tours.
While the NFL has a clear strategy, the NCAA has work to do.
Every college athletics department needs an internationalization strategy.
Walk With TFB is ready to help you build yours.
Because the future of sport is global.
It’s happening. We walking!
TFB
Walk With TFB specializes in international athlete development, internationalization strategy, and sports diplomacy. We support international athletes across their full journey, from recruitment through career readiness, and we help institutions build comprehensive, values-aligned strategies for global engagement.
If your athletic department or institution is navigating international recruitment, compliance and athlete support, or building global partnerships and sport-based diplomacy initiatives, we can help.
For more information, email WalkWithTFB@gmail.com.
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