At Ardent Credit Union, Deposits Are A ‘Slam Dunk’

It’s been a good season so far for the men’s basketball program at Villanova University. The team was 12-5 as of mid-February, ranked third in the Big East and just outside the top 25 teams nationally.

That’s all good news for Ardent Credit Union ($871.7M, Philadelphia, PA). The Philly-area cooperative has had a partnership with Villanova University Athletics for the past four years and launched its Slam Dunk CD as a way to better leverage the partnership. The certificate, which savers can open with as little as $100, has a seven-month term and a base rate of 3.90% APY. When the Wildcats win a home game, the rate jumps to 4.25%. If they win the next home game, the rate stays steady; if they lose, the rate drops back to the base.

Thanks to Ardent’s association with the university’s athletics department, it has intellectual property rights to Villanova’s logo, which it uses to co-brand its marketing, but name, image, and licensing (NIL) agreements with Villanova players also have been crucial to the program’s success, says Alletta Emeno, chief marketing officer.

“Since the beginning of our contract, we’ve always tried to partner with a player from the team,” she says. “For the first three years of the agreement we were tied with Eric Dixon, who was the leading scorer in all of NCAA basketball at the of last season. [Editor’s note: Dixon now plays for the Memphis Hustle in the NBA G League]. He was a great partner and had a lot of name recognition.”

For this season, Ardent has partnered with Malachi Palmer, who helps promote the program on his social media channels and appears in ads the credit union filmed on the school’s basketball court.

“Folding in NIL has been huge,” Emeno says. “Student-athlete ambassadors bring us a different, younger crowed, which has been a big deal. It also allows us to break through the concept of what a credit union is.”

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FanDuel’s Got Nothin’ On This

Along with social media promotions, the credit union also runs ads on TV during Villanova men’s basketball games and has a table at several home games to conduct in-person outreach.

The majority of those who take advantage of the offer are not students, Emeno says, although once students understand how the CD works, they like the concept.

“People appreciate the gamification of it, and we have a low barrier to entry,” the CMO says. “If a student wanted to put $100 in, it’s probably better than betting it on FanDuel.”

If not students, who? Approximately 90% of those who open a Slam Dunk CD are existing members; however, the credit union requires at least half of the CD must be new money. For those who join because of the CD offer, the credit union does a variety of outreach to ensure new members understand all that comes from being a member. That includes not just banking services, says Emeno, but even options like a free auto-buying concierge service.

The credit union’s chartering SEG was the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, so it tends to have a more wealthy, sophisticated membership, Emeno says. Those savers often shop around for the best deposit rates, and the Slam Dunk CD is one way to encourage them to keep their deposits with Ardent.

Although Emeno cannot provide a number for how much money the certificate has brought in, she says it’s been a helpful liquidity driver. After a period of decline, share growth at Ardent has largely been on the rise since the second half of 2023, increasing from negative numbers to 6.26% at the end of 2025.

Villanova’s success on the court also helps drive adoption. With a new coach and a lot of turnover on the team, Emeno says it was unclear at the start of the season how the Wildcats would do —  and, by extension, the CD.

“This season has been a bit of a bell curve for Slam Dunk CD openings,” Emeno says. “Almost the entire team is new. There’s a new coach. People weren’t sure what to expect.”

From a performance standpoint, demand for the CD started slowly this season, but improved along with the team.

“Into December, it became clear they were going to be OK,” Emeno says. “And we did pretty well through January.”

Lessons Learned

One of the most significant lessons learned from the Slam Dunk CD is the importance of simplicity. During the program’s first year, the rate was additive, increasing each time the team won. The base rate was the same for everyone, but those who opened their accounts later in the season had fewer opportunities for their rate to increase. That not only created issues internally but also made the CD a tougher sell. Simplicity around the rate is crucial to piquing fans’ attention, Emeno says.

“The base rate needs to be competitive because that’s what people are looking at,” the CMO says. “They’re thinking with the worst-case scenario they’re going to get a competitive rate. It’s not necessarily the highest rate they could get, but it is very competitive. With the bonus rate, we’re sitting at the top of what’s available now.”

Plus, she adds, having a “3” in the base rate and a “4” in the bonus clearly signals at even a glance that there’s a real differential on the return if the team does well.

“We’re not the largest credit union in our area, so that partnership with Villanova gives us a little bit of gravitas because we’re associated with an athletic program that is the premier program in this area,” Emeno says. “Using that in our marketing campaigns has been huge for brand awareness.”

The takeaway for other credit unions, she adds, is to lean into partnerships that resonate with members, regardless of the institution’s size.

“We’re in a unique situation because we have affluent members,” she says. “We have to make sure we are competitive for our members. Then when we do something a little different like this, it enables us to attract even more members because we’re offering something that’s unique and tied to something they know, even if they haven’t heard of us.”