How FEU turned a collegiate sports opening into a pop culture moment

Far Eastern University (FEU) has turned the opening ceremony of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 into a wider cultural conversation, using original music, social media activations and entertainment talent to extend the event beyond collegiate sports.

The UAAP is an athletic association of a selection of universities in Metro Manila. Held at the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines, the ceremony was organised around the theme “For everyone, UAAP”, positioning the country's premier collegiate sports league as a platform for inclusivity and community representation.

The campaign generated an estimated 50.6 million pesos (US$791,000) in earned media value (EMV) and more than 140.4 million pesos (US$2.2 million) in cultural impact value, according to FEU and its partners. The figures were attributed to the live event's reach and subsequent media coverage.

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To build anticipation ahead of the ceremony, FEU commissioned alumnus and Filipino hip-hop artist Gloc-9 to create the official Season 89 soundtrack, Dito Sa Amin (“Here With Us”). The song was promoted across digital platforms and supported by a nationwide TikTok dance challenge involving audiences from the league's eight member universities.

The university also rolled out its “Spotlight Series” and “Campus Ambush Interviews”, highlighting campus workers, student-athletes and other university community members as part of its broader inclusivity narrative.

At the event, Filipino entertainer and FEU alumna Vice Ganda headlined the entertainment programme. Her performance also became a focal point for coverage beyond sports, following her appearance at a post-show press conference, where she described the performance as her “gift to FEU”.

The campaign brought together FEU, public relations and brand communications agency Impact Headquarter, event production partner Prodcamp, official broadcaster Cignal and the UAAP. The partners secured coverage from more than 100 tier-one media outlets, spanning mainstream news, lifestyle, entertainment and culture publications in addition to traditional sports media.

“The overwhelming reception of the opening ceremony validates our strategic mandate for Season 89. It successfully translated FEU's core institutional values into a unifying national milestone, reinforcing our legacy of inclusive excellence and showing what is possible when our community comes together,” said Dr Rowena Reyes, FEU vice president for corporate affairs.

“FEU’s execution of the Season 89 kickoff has effectively expanded the league's cultural footprint. This level of institutional delivery sets a new operational standard for the UAAP, proving that our platform can resonate far beyond the collegiate ecosystem,” Mark Molina, UAAP Season 89 president, added.

For Impact Headquarter, the campaign demonstrated how an event traditionally centred on sporting competition could become a broader platform for cultural engagement.

“A spectacle captures the eye, but true authenticity captures the culture. FEU gave the UAAP community a platform to show up exactly as they are, and the entire country resonated with that shared heartbeat. FEU proved that when you stop competing for mere attention and start building a platform for genuine representation, the culture, and the math, will always follow,” said Dan Mejia, founder and CEO of Impact Headquarter.

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