Jesse Cole Understands Something College Sports Forgot
The Savannah Bananas founder isn’t just selling entertainment. He’s proving what happens when fans actually come first.
There’s something funny about my admiration for Jesse Cole.
I don’t even like Banana Ball.
Seriously.
I like real baseball. I grew up loving the rhythm of the game, the tension of a 2-1 count in the seventh inning, the tradition, the strategy, the beauty of a lazy summer night at the ballpark. Banana Ball doesn’t really appeal to me stylistically.
But Jesse Cole?
I believe in him completely.
Because I think he might be the best businessman in America.
Not because he’s squeezing every penny possible out of consumers. Not because he found some Wall Street formula to maximize profit margins. Not because he turned fans into walking ATM machines.
No.
Jesse Cole understands something the rest of sports has forgotten:
Fans matter most.
Not shareholders.
Not investors.
Not television consultants.
Not private equity firms.
Fans.
That’s why universities should be studying his methods in business schools. Sports management programs should be dissecting what he’s built in Savannah. College presidents should be forced to sit through seminars on why people are emotionally connecting to the Bananas while so much of modern sports feels colder by the day.
Jesse Cole created an experience where fans know they come first.
That matters.
He intentionally tries to make the upper-deck experience feel as special as the 100-level seats. Think about that for a second. In modern sports, most organizations are actively trying to separate people by wealth class. Better clubs. Better entrances. Better parking. Better experiences for richer people.
Cole is trying to elevate everybody.
That’s the opposite of modern sports business philosophy.
Most sports owners today are obsessed with extracting every possible dollar from consumers. Ticket prices explode. Parking is outrageous. Merchandise costs a fortune. Streaming packages multiply. Food prices become laughable. Everybody has their hand in your wallet before you even sit down.
And somehow, after all that, fans are still treated like an inconvenience.
Look at what’s happening with WWE under TKO Group Holdings.
They’re cutting wrestler salaries while executives and investors cash massive checks. WrestleMania now looks like the Yellow Pages exploded inside a wrestling ring. Ads everywhere. Long sponsor integrations jammed into the middle of matches. Everything feels monetized.
The fan experience deteriorates while profits soar.
That’s modern sports in America.
College sports isn’t much different anymore.
It’s become Shake Down Street.
Want to follow your favorite college football team? Better be ready to spend thousands.
Tickets.
Hotels.
Flights.
Tailgating.
Streaming subscriptions.
Parking.
Merchandise.
Donations.
Seat licenses.
It never ends.
And after all that spending, what does the fan get in return?
Usually another price increase.
That greed is a huge reason college sports is now begging Congress for help. The NCAA and university leadership created this chaos through years of short-sighted decision-making driven by money above all else.
They forgot who built the industry in the first place.
The fans.
And yes, the student-athlete matters deeply. Of course they do.
But fans matter too. More than college sports leadership wants to admit.
Without fans, none of this exists.
None of it.
LeBron James isn’t LeBron James if nobody watches.
Tom Brady isn’t Tom Brady if nobody cares.
There are millions of incredibly talented people in this world nobody pays attention to. Talent alone is not enough. The audience matters. Emotional connection matters. Community matters.
Fans are everything.
They are the money.
They are the energy.
They are the atmosphere.
They are the television ratings.
They are the reason any of this exists at all.
And sports keeps treating them worse and worse.
That’s why Jesse Cole stands out so dramatically.
He treats fans like royalty.
He wants people leaving the ballpark feeling joy instead of financial guilt. He wants families to create memories instead of calculating credit card balances. He wants fans to feel appreciated rather than exploited.
That shouldn’t feel revolutionary.
But in 2026, somehow it does.
College sports desperately needs more Jesse Cole.
Not more consultants.
Not more television executives.
Not more private capital.
More people who actually understand the emotional responsibility that comes with asking fans to care.
Because once fans stop caring, the whole thing collapses.
ShowPonyMedia.com:
If this hit home, share it with a sports fan who feels like the games they love keep asking for more while giving less back. Comment below if you agree or disagree that college sports need to cater more to their fans.