Hockey Diversity Alliance

SURVEY RESPONSE REPORT

Background of Survey

The Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA) was founded to expand access to hockey by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with a particular focus on underrepresented communities. The founders, current and former hockey players Evander Kane, Akim Aliu, Matt Dumba, and Nazem Kadri, believe an independent nonprofit organization committed to ending systemic racism in hockey is essential in making the sport more accessible to diverse communities (HDA). Since 2020, the HDA has used grassroots programs and developmental initiatives designed to bring youth from diverse backgrounds to hockey. The organization aims to challenge the traditional demographic profile of the sport and make hockey more accessible and equitable.

However, despite its commendable initiative and grassroots programs, the HDA currently faces a major public relations challenge. At a time when visibility matters most for DEI, as sports organizations and other advocates increasingly prioritize inclusion, the HDA is at risk of losing visibility, relevance, and funding as sponsors and supporters have begun to pull back. For example, Budweiser, Scotiabank, and Kraft Heinz have rescinded their support (McKenzie, 2025). Simultaneously, there is a growing societal backlash against DEI initiatives in some aspects of social media and sports.

Moreover, the problem is also about public skepticism of the HDA’s motives and effectiveness. After an unsuccessful attempt to formalize a partnership with the National Hockey League (NHL), the question arose whether the HDA could meaningfully connect with the broader hockey community. In our survey, the data reflects the challenge the HDA currently faces, as 85 of our respondents answered “no” when asked whether they have heard about the HDA; only 7 said “yes.” This substantial majority suggests that most of our sample perceives that the HDA has not succeeded in establishing itself as a trusted, effective force for diversity and inclusion in hockey. This sentiment amongst our survey respondents aligns with our observations of diminishing public interest and sponsorship and limited media coverage of HDA initiatives. In other words, despite the organization’s stated mission and early outreach efforts, many in the hockey community, or among our survey audience, perceive that the situation has not developed.

Research on DEI in hockey shows that the challenges facing the HDA exist within the sport as a whole. Historically, hockey has been dominated by white, affluent players, a trend that is reinforced by expensive participation costs, unequal access to ice rinks, and a lack of representation or role models in underrepresented communities (Lazerus, 2022). These challenges make long-term demographic change difficult, as simply providing grassroots or visibility initiatives is insufficient without institutional support, concrete funding, and a coordinated plan across leagues, sponsors, and other community organizations. Additionally, socioeconomic research shows that the families engaged in youth hockey increasingly change toward high-income groups as equipment, travel, and other ice-time expenses create major obstacles for lower-income families (English, 2018). These expenses continue to disproportionately affect marginalized communities within hockey as white players continue to dominate.

Additionally, the climate around DEI programs adds another layer of difficulty as sociological studies show that as diversity initiatives in sports become more visible, polarization increases, with some stakeholders perceiving DEI efforts as performative or unnecessary (Soule et al., 2024). Many fans have expressed belief that politics and diversity should remain out of sports; for example, Colin Kaepernick was “blacklisted” from the NFL due to his stance on Black Lives Matter (Serazio, 2019). This issue suggests that the environment in which the HDA operates is not only structurally challenging but also politically sensitive. Lasting impact will require outreach, long-term planning, and genuine connections across the hockey world. These insights also show why the HDA faces skepticism, declining sponsorship, and diminished confidence. Additionally, it shows why building trust requires a stronger organizational approach grounded in communication and measurable action.

Purpose of Survey

The purpose of this survey is to better understand why the HDA is struggling to maintain visibility, engagement, and credibility within the broader DEI sports community. Our earlier research, using social media analytics, showed significant gaps in the organization's media presence. Across platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, the HDA reached a very limited audience. For example, likes and shares were consistently low, follower growth was slow, and overall engagement was minimal. In addition, the organization was not consistently active on these media platforms, as their posting was irregular and didn’t gain much interaction. Additionally, much of the engagement surrounding HDA came from outside accounts, such as other influencers or organizations, rather than fans, which can suggest limited reach. These findings raised important questions for us about whether the HDA’s communication was resonating with their intended audience and what factors may have contributed to their diminished visibility.

Based on these issues and gaps, we focused our survey on audience-level insights that social media analytics alone couldn’t explain. While analytics did help us to identify preliminary issues such as low engagement, inconsistent communication, and limited reach, they could not explain exactly how people perceived the HDA’s actions or goals. Therefore, the survey seeks to explain the gap by collecting information about awareness of the HDA, perceptions of its initiatives, and beliefs on engagement and effectiveness of promoting DEI in hockey. By addressing these questions, the survey helps to identify actionable measures that can inform future PR strategies and guide the organization toward more effective engagement within the DEI sports landscape.

Research Questions

Research Questions:

RQ1: What influences college students’ perceived importance of DEI initiatives?

RQ2: How do levels of support for DEI initiatives among college students relate to different forms of social media engagement with DEI-related content?

RQ3: Which organizations are most well-known among college students?

RQ4: What are the perceptions of HDA for those who have heard about HDA?

RQ5: Which DEI organization is most active in DEI?

Research Question Analysis:

To guide our analysis, we developed a set of research questions focused on the major themes that stemmed from our survey interest. These themes reflect what we aimed to learn about the perceptions of DEI in general and in sports, their awareness of the HDA and its effectiveness in DEI, and how these factors relate to social media engagement and organizational impressions. Our first theme centers around the perceived importance of DEI. We restructured our research questions to explore the factors that might influence this perception (RQ1). From this, we developed more specific goals in order to develop the question relationships further. First, we wanted to investigate whether awareness of the HDA is related to perceived importance of DEI, which helps us to test whether knowing about DEI in sports organizations shapes attitudes (RQ1A). Additionally, we questioned whether political affiliation affects the perceived importance of DEI, which can help us see the differences amongst groups (RQ1B).

The second major theme focuses on social media engagement with DEI content. We revised our research question to align with the four different types of engagement represented in the survey (RQ2). This question allows us to see whether students who strongly support DEI differ from those who are less engaged in behaviors such as liking, sharing, following, or purposefully searching for DEI-related content.

Our third theme follows awareness of DEI-focused sport organizations, including the HDA. RQ3 allows us to understand the visibility and brand recognition of the HDA compared to similar organizations working toward DEI in sports. By identifying which DEI initiatives students already know and which ones they don’t, we can better understand gaps in awareness and where strategic communication may need to elevate the HDA’s presence among audiences. Additionally, we then formulated a question about the perceptions of the HDA based on those who have heard of it (RQ4). Our research questions investigated perceptions and awareness of HDA, which pushed us to develop further insights to encompass more of our interests. First, we wanted to specify how effective people believed the HDA to be (RQ4A). We then asked how often they encounter HDA content relative to other sports organizations and for those that had heard of HDA before (RQ4B), and what their perceptions of HDA’s efforts into DEI initiatives (RQ4C). Finally, our last research question (RQ5) shows which DEI organization students believe is the most active in DEI work, adding an insight into the perceived impact and awareness.

Population, Sampling Frame, and Sampling Method

The target population for this survey consists mainly of individuals aged 18-21 who have an interest in DEI and sports in some capacity. This population was selected because these groups are most likely to be aware of or affected by DEI initiatives in sports, as well as organizations such as the HDA. However, the accessible population was limited mostly to college students who could be reached through personal or university connections, which became our sampling frame. We sent the survey out to our own list of people within the age range. While some respondents may identify as sports fans, hockey fans, or DEI-engaged individuals, the sampling frame does not guarantee full representation of the broader target groups. To reach participants, we used convenience sampling, as mentioned above, from our own personal connections and snowball sampling by asking people to send the survey to others. While this allows us to gather responses efficiently, it also creates limitations, as the sample relies on voluntary participation and may overrepresent individuals who are more involved in social issues or more connected to our academic environment. Despite this, our sample provides a good look into college students' perceptions of DEI.

Participants and Survey Procedures

The survey conducted was created using Qualtrics, a survey software provided by Syracuse University. The initial goal was to reach out to at least 100 participants, and the goal was accomplished with a final response of 121. This gave us a solid foundation for analyzing the evidence collected and compiling it into useful data and information points for the HDA. After acquiring a sufficient amount of responses, we continued to sort through answers—examining similarities and differences among the represented demographics. The survey was released and opened to access on November 13, 2025, with the majority of the responses coming in the early third week of the month. We stopped collecting our responses on November 25, 2025.

Measures

Participants’ perception about the importance of DEI in sports and companies allows a company to decide the best way to both gain traction and outreach to their respective audiences. Some participants viewed the incorporation of DEI as a crucial aspect of a company’s brand, while others felt indifferent to its inclusion. The decision of how to properly include DEI and express it throughout a corporation depends on the audience’s demographics and the consensus of the audience, to ensure a positive response. The questions asked of the population utilized a Likert Scale to assess the perceived importance of DEI within an organization, specifically sports. There were a handful of questions that utilized the Likert Scale to decipher the perception of DEI importance, specifically for college students, for example: “How important is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in sports organizations to you?” Followed by possible answers: Not at all important, Slightly important, Moderately important, Very important, Extremely important. A low perceived importance created a hurdle: those who did not consider DEI to be an important factor in a sports organization were less likely to have known of the HDA or any adjacent organizations. In a similar essence, even when the perceived importance was high, the awareness of the HDA (results of such collected by a “Yes” or “No” question asking if they had heard of the company) was low among survey participants, which pooled only a small handful of the participants together, far less than the overall responses. It is worth noting that the amount of awareness of the HDA as a company cannot be directly related with a person’s perception of importance of DEI inclusion; the notability of the organization itself is less than widespread, making it difficult to determine is knowledge of the brand or lack-there-of is due to an apathetic view on DEI inclusion in sports, or inadequate marketing and presence from the organization itself. Still, participants, after indicating that they had heard of the HDA, were asked about their satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the organization's outreach. Participants were first asked about their perceived effectiveness of the HDA’s promotion of DEI. Optional responses were: not effective at all (1), slightly effective (2), neither effective nor ineffective (3), somewhat effective (4), extremely effective (5). Participants were then asked to respond with how much they agreed with the following statement: “I see HDA content on social media platforms more often than content from other sports organizations”. The options for responses were: strongly disagree (1), somewhat disagree (2), neither agree nor disagree (3), somewhat agree (4), strongly agree (5). Then, participants were asked to rate how much they agree, from the same scale, to three additional statements examining how clear and productive the HDA is.

We also measured how levels of support for DEI affect social media engagement. Participants were first asked how often they discussed DEI-related topics in sports with peers in person versus online. Their options for answers for both choices were: Very Often, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never. Directly following, participants were then asked what type of DEI-related content would most spark their engagement. Options included: Clear evidence that the initiative will result in real change; transparent communication; endorsement or active involvement by athletes; alignment of the initiative with my values or interests; opportunities for me to participate. Responses were: None at all (1), a little (2), a moderate amount (3), a lot (4), always (5). To further assess the behavior dependent on support and engagement, participants were asked how likely they were to Like, comment, or share a post on social media. The responses were: extremely unlikely (1), somewhat unlikely (2), neither likely nor unlikely (3), somewhat likely (4), and extremely likely (5). An additional measurement was finding popular brands that are well known within the college student population, giving us a baseline to compare to the HDA. Initially, participants are asked about national sports leagues. Participants were given a list of leagues, including the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, MLS, and asked to indicate by clicking either “Yes” or “No” whether they believed the organization should be held accountable for DEI performance. Next, participants dove deeper into the world of DEI in sports, focusing more in depth on specific diversity-inspired brands, rather than the sports and teams themselves. Participants were asked to select all of the given organizations oriented around DEI in sports that they had heard of. The options included: NHL, Growth Opportunities through Athletic, Learning, and Service (GOALS), Hockey Is For Everyone (HIFE), You Can Play, other (please specify), and I have not heard of any of the organizations above. This allowed us to gather further information on whether or not there was a distinction of apathy for DEI in sports, or a lost connection between the HDA and their audience regarding advertising and sharing their content.

Demographics of Respondents

To further display and interpret data gained from our Qualtrics survey, we used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), creating a series of graphs and tables that accurately represent our findings and research questions. The following 10 graphs and tables, as well as a frequency table (with data from our demographic survey questions), were created within SPSS and organized through Gemini.

Figure 1 is a frequency table that pulls data from DQ1 through DQ5 (our demographic questions. As seen below, a majority of respondents identify as female (77.8%), while a minority identify as male (18.9%) or non-binary/third gender (3.3%). As for political affiliation, a slight11 majority of respondents categorize themselves as Liberal (33.71%), followed by Democrat (27%), Independent (20.2%), prefer not to say (10.1%), Republican (4.5%), and Conservative (1.1%). A majority of respondents identified as White (77.5%), followed by those who preferred not to say (7.9%), Hispanic or Latino (4.5%), Black or African American (4.5%), Asian (4.5%), and Native American (1.1%). A majority of respondents were ages 18 to 21 (94.4%), followed by 22-25 (3.4%), 26-29 (1.1%), and 30 plus (1.1%). A majority of respondents estimated college graduation year is 2028 (50.6%), followed by 2027 (24.7%), 2026 (18%), 2029 (4.5%), and other (2.5%).

Descriptive Statistics

Eight out of 11 graphs produced from Qualtrics data are used for descriptive statistics. These focus on frequency and percentage to describe key responses to seven meaningful survey questions from the sample. Figure 2 is a bar graph that summarizes data from the multiple-choice question Q6: “How important are DEI-related conversations in sports among people your age?” The majority of respondents said that these conversations are somewhat important. More respondents believe DEI-related conversations are somewhat important to very important than somewhat unimportant to not important. This bar graph helps to answer RQ1: “What influences college students' perceived importance of DEI initiatives?”

Figure 3 summarizes data from the matrix table (Likert) question Q4: “What type of DEI-related content on social media most encourages your engagement?” A majority of respondents (40.2%) said alignment of the initiative with the respondents' values or interests encourages their engagement a lot, followed by a moderate amount (25.5%). A majority of respondents (32.4%) said clear evidence that the initiative will result in real change encourages their engagement a moderate amount, followed by a lot (28.4%). A majority of respondents (34.3%) said transparent communication encourages their engagement a moderate amount (34.35), followed by a lot (30.4%). A majority of respondents (36.3%) said endorsement or active involvement by athletes encourages their engagement a moderate amount, followed by a lot (32.4%). A majority of respondents (30.4%) said opportunities for them to participate encourages their engagement a moderate amount, followed by a little (26.5%). Based on this data, the HDA should prioritize these factors to boost engagement rates in the following order: alignment of the initiative with targeted audiences' values or interests, endorsement or active involvement by athletes, transparent communication, clear evidence that the initiative will result in real change, and finally, opportunities for the targeted audience to participate. This table helps to answer RQ2: “How do levels of support for DEI initiatives among college students relate to different forms of social media engagement with DEI-related content?”

Figure 4 is a bar graph that summarizes data from the multiple-choice question Q16: “How much do you agree with the following statement: I see HDA content on social media platforms more often than content from other sports organizations?” The majority of respondents somewhat agreed with the statement, followed by strongly disagree, and strongly agree. This bar graph helps to answer RQ3: “Which organizations are most well-known among college students?”

Figure 5 is a pie chart that summarizes data from the multiple-choice question Q14: “Have you heard of the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA) before?” A large majority of the respondents said no. This pie chart helps answer RQ3: “Which organizations are most well-known among college students?” and highlights the need for the HDA to increase visibility and name recognition among the general public.

Figure 6 is a bar graph that summarizes data from the multiple-choice question: Q15: “How effective do you think the HDA is at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in hockey?” The majority of respondents said neither effective nor ineffective, followed by slightly effective, not effective at all, and somewhat effective. This bar graph helps to answer RQ4: “What are the perceptions of HDA for those who heard about HDA?”, and shows that the HDA’s effectiveness does not have much visibility to the public.

Figure 7 summarizes data from the matrix table (Likert) question Q17: “HDA's Independence: Choose how much you believe these statements are reflective of the HDA (5 being strongly agree, 1 being strongly disagree).” An equal number of respondents (28.6%) strongly agree, neither agree nor disagree, and somewhat disagree that the HDA leads DEI efforts. A majority (42.9%) of respondents neither agree nor disagree that the HDA expresses its own identity, followed by strongly agree (28.6%). An equal number of respondents (28.6%) strongly agree and somewhat agree that the HDA maintains DEI focus. This table helps to answer “RQ4: What are the perceptions of HDA for those who heard about HDA?”

Figure 8 summarizes data from the matrix table (Likert) question Q2: “Should the following sports organizations be held accountable for DEI performance?” A large majority (over 91%) of respondents said that all sports organizations listed (NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, and MLS) should be held accountable for DEI performance. This table helps to answer RQ5: “Which DEI organization is most active in DEI?”, and shows how audiences will hold sports organizations accountable for their DEI performance, and therefore, the HDA should prioritize this factor.

Figure 9 summarizes data from the multiple-choice question Q18: “Select all of the following Sports-DEI-oriented organizations that you have heard of.” A majority (52.4%) of respondents had heard of the NHL, but 27.6 of respondents had not heard of any of the organizations listed. This table helps to answer “RQ5: Which DEI organization is most active in DEI?”

Subgroup Analysis

The following three graphs examine group differences, focusing on statistical comparison. Figure 10 shows a T-test done between the matrix table (bipolar) question Q13: “How likely are you to share or repost DEI-related sports content that aligns with your personal values? (1 being not likely at all, 5 being very likely)” and the multiple choice demographic question DQ1: “What is your gender?” From this test, we found that results are not statistically significant, gender does not determine the likelihood of someone to share or repost DEI-related sports content that aligns with their personal values, and that the HDA should tailor posts to all genders and focus more on the shareability of their content. This helps answer the research question RQ2: “How do levels of support for DEI initiatives among college students relate to different forms of social media engagement with DEI-related content?”

Figure 11 shows an F-test done between the multiple-choice question Q1: “How Important is DEI in sports organizations to you?” and the multiple-choice demographic question DQ1: “What best matches your political affiliation?" From this test, we found that the more left-leaning someone is, the more they tend to care about DEI in sports organizations, but limited data makes it difficult to determine right-leaning perspectives and that the HDA should target democratic populations. This helps answer the research question RQ1: “What influences college students' perceived importance of DEI initiatives?”

Figure 12 shows a cross-tab analysis done between the multiple-choice question Q6:“ How important are DEI-related conversations in sports among people your age?” and the multiple-choice question DQ7: “How likely are you to engage (like, comment, or share) with a social media post about DEI issues in sports?" From this test, we found that although the data isn’t consistent, most of the time, if DEI-related conversations in sports among people in an age group are important, the person is more likely to create a social media post about DEI issues in sports. The HDA should target age-grouped audiences that view DEI in sports as important to increase engagement on posts. This helps answer the research question RQ2: “How do levels of support for DEI initiatives among college students relate to different forms of social media engagement with DEI-related content?”

Summary of Key Findings

1. Most participants value DEI content that demonstrates real change and clear communication of the organization’s values.

A majority of respondents (40.2%) said alignment of the initiative with the respondents' values or interests encourages their engagement a lot, followed by a moderate amount (25.5%). A majority of respondents (32.4%) said clear evidence that the initiative will result in real change encourages their engagement a moderate amount, followed by a lot (28.4%). A majority of respondents (34.3%) said transparent communication encourages their engagement a moderate amount (34.35), followed by a lot (30.4%).

2. The majority of college-aged participants have not heard of the HDA.

Participants said they had never heard of the HDA before, and only seven participants had. This demonstrates that the HDA’s visibility is overall very low amongst college students, even among many of those who value DEI in sports.

3. The HDA’s promotion of DEI in hockey is not effective enough to reach college-aged students.

From Q15: “How effective do you think the HDA is at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in hockey?” The majority of respondents said neither effective nor ineffective, followed by slightly effective, not effective at all, and somewhat effective. This shows us that most students are indifferent to the HDA’s content, and a majority do not know enough to hold an opinion on it.

4. The HDA’s target demographic is most likely to be politically liberal and democrat leaning.

In the F-test we conducted between Q1: “How Important is DEI in sports organizations to you?” and the multiple-choice demographic question DQ1: “What best matches your political affiliation?" We found that the more left-leaning someone is, the more they tend to care about DEI in sports organizations. This is important for the HDA to consider as they create their content and aim for certain publics. They should be sure to target the ones that are most likely to have a prior interest in DEI within sports.

5. The HDA should target audiences who find DEI in sports important because they are more likely to engage with their content.

In the cross-tab analysis done between the multiple-choice question Q6:“ How important are DEI-related conversations in sports among people your age?” and the multiple-choice question DQ7: “How likely are you to engage (like, comment, or share) with a social media post about DEI issues in sports?" From this test, we found that although the data isn’t consistent, most of the time, if DEI-related conversations in sports among people in an age group are important, the person is more likely to create a social media post about DEI issues in sports.

Limitations

There were many limitations to the survey that we conducted. The primary limitation we faced was demographic, as we targeted all college students but shared the survey mostly with our peers or direct connections. Because we only shared the survey with our friends and campus connections, the data was skewed to favor certain demographics that we associate ourselves with, for example majority of our participants were left-leaning politically, which meant we did not have a great grasp on the republican population and their feelings towards the HDA. Another limitation of our survey was the general limited awareness of the HDA. Because not many survey participants had heard of the HDA before, it was difficult to receive sufficient data surrounding the organization and their overall impact on their community. Overall, this last limitation did give us insight into the fact that the HDA is largely unknown to college students, but it did make it difficult for us to have data on more specific questions surrounding the HDA’s media presence.

Key Insights

1. The HDA should increase consistency in social media communication.

From our last report focused on social media analytics, we learned that the HDA has inconsistent posting rates on their social media and averages very low on engagement. From this report, we learned that very few college students engage with HDA content or are aware of the organization in general. From these two reports, our key recommendation is to increase posting on social media with clearer, cohesive messaging. Our survey participants made it clear that they value content that shows initiative and effort towards a goal and clearly communicates its mission. To align with this, the HDA should post social content with fewer words and demonstrate action to appeal to those who are interested in DEI on social media.

2. The HDA should target audiences who already value DEI in sports.

From our survey, specifically our crosstab analysis, we learned that those who already have an interest in DEI in sports are more likely to interact with sports content online. With this information, we recommend the HDA start creating content and targeting sources that appeal to those interested in DEI and sports, respectively. By targeting these publics, the HDA will have greater success in increasing engagement and overall public perception.

3. The HDA should close the awareness gap by prioritizing placements that matter.

As we saw in the survey report, the majority of our participants were not aware of the HDA. The primary way to fix this is for the HDA to prioritize earned media and specifically target publications that are more likely to cover stories about sports, DEI, and DEI within sports. By focusing on earned media in publications such as The Athletic and ESPN, the HDA will reach a wider variety of sports fans and thus gain a greater interest from the sports community. Along with sports publications, the HDA can build awareness by reaching out to publications that frequently cover DEI topics, such as the New York Times, so that they can reach both sports and DEI fans.

4. The HDA should integrate more activist-focused messaging.

Our survey participants told us that they value DEI-driven content that shows real action and initiative. HDA’s social media is currently dedicated to promoting events for the HDA as opposed to showing collective action for the success of DEI in sports. To align more with what audiences value, the HDA should work to create content that shows off its commitment to DEI via fundraisers and other forms of support. By doing instead of saying, the HDA can connect much closer with its audience and prove itself to be an exemplary organization in the DEI/sport industry. Furthermore, the HDA should make use of its owned media by improving its website and possibly starting a newsletter surrounding DEI in sports to show that it is an information source for DEI in sports fans, as opposed to just an organization that runs occasional events. By making itself into an information source, the HDA can show that they care deeply about its cause and aims for impact over excuses.

5. The HDA should distinguish itself from its competitors by utilizing athlete-led positioning.

Our last recommendation and key insight for the HDA is informed by our survey participants being more familiar with the missions of the HDA’s competitors compared to the HDA itself. To help distinguish itself from its competitors, the HDA should focus on its biggest strength, which is the fact that it is run by hockey athletes who have been directly affected by DEI in hockey. By making this strength clear through athlete-led positioning and content, the HDA will be able to distinguish itself from its competitors and solidify its place in the DEI in the sports industry space.

Conclusions

The survey we conducted highlights many key insights for the HDA to consider in any and all future campaigns. Firstly, publics that are already interested in DEI are a key target for the HDA as they create their social media and target certain earned media publications. By focusing on audiences that already value DEI, the HDA will have more success with increasing its engagement and establishing a strong standing within its target industry.

Additionally, the survey provided various other issues to consider, especially surrounding the HDA’s relevance among college students. Our primary recommendations are based on the results that showed very limited engagement with the HDA among college students, which can be easily fixed through action-oriented content and cohesive messaging. By increasing its overall content frequency and targeting the correct audiences with brief and clear communication, the HDA will have more success with increasing its relevance and having an impact on its target publics.