Now in its fourth year, the Go Purple Friday program has more than doubled its number of partners from last season.

“We normally average about 50 to 60 partners each year, and this year we have 132 partners,” Julie May, assistant director of athletics marketing, said.

Go Purple Friday is a grassroots campaign started in 2010 by TCU Athletics to get the community excited about the football season. The program encourages individuals to wear purple in order to receive deals at area businesses before game weekends.

Drew Martin, assistant athletics director for marketing, credits the increase in participation to a heightened interest in the area following the university's entrance into the Big 12 Conference, as well as the efforts of LComm, a local marketing and communications advertising agency that solicits potential businesses on behalf of TCU Athletics.

“It’s kind of a large undertaking,” Martin said. “Fort Worth is the 16th largest city in the country so we have a lot of ground to cover.”

The number of partners might even continue to increase throughout the season, he said.

Preparation for Go Purple Friday, whether goal-setting or soliciting businesses over the summer, never ends, Martin said.

“It’s almost a year-round process,” he said. “We try to start in the spring with our goals, reviewing what we did in the last fall season and setting our goals for the next fall.”

A sales kit designed for businesses, followed by diligent phone calls from department members, contributed to the rise in participation, May said.

The kits, sent out by the department, provided signage for the companies and were a primary focus for exposure, Martin said.

Although Go Purple Friday does not run any major television or radio ads, Martin said additional signage is planned to target the West Seventh Street development. The program targets university fans primarily through social media and email, he said.

First-year engineering major Zack Boriack said he learned about Go Purple Friday through the email campaign. He said the program is good for team spirit because it brings the community together to support a common cause.

Chancellor Victor Boschini said he has seen firsthand the success of Go Purple Friday throughout the four years, and believes the program has developed school spirit even beyond athletics.

“It’s just a way for people to show their support for Texas Christian University," Boschini said. "It’s a wonderful way, actually."