Learfield Sports contract helps open doors for athletics in WAC
On Dec. 28, 2006, Utah State University announced it will be signing Learfield Sports of Dallas as its exclusive athletics marketing partner. The contract, which takes effect starting in the 2007-2008 academic year, will run through 2012 and stipulates that Learfield will administer USU’s multimedia rights under the name “Aggie Sports Properties.”
USU Associate Athletics Director Jana Doggett was in charge of cutting the deal, which she calls “the wave of the future.”
While Doggett said USU did not necessarily need to sign with a sports marketing firm as it tries to improve its athletics program and adjusts to life in the Western Athletic Conference, it will help.
“It’s not a ‘have-to’, but it certainly is something that will open up doors outside of the local market that we haven’t been able to open,” Doggett said. “It is the trend of the future. Learfield alone represents 30 to 35 university properties, and that doesn’t even take into account the other sports marketing companies.”
Learfield is presently working with top programs such as the University of Alabama, Clemson University, University of Colorado, University of Indiana, University of Iowa, Kansas State University, University of Memphis, University of Miami (Florida), University of North Carolina, University of Oklahoma, Oregon State University, University of South Carolina, Texas A&M and the University of Wisconsin, to name a few. Learfield also has a deal with the Black Coaches Association.
“I think it will be a great thing for the Athletic Department and the university,” Doggett said. “We’ll still be selling sponsorships within the Athletic Department with the difference being it will be a company working with us instead of one staff person. Our hope is that it will generate more dollars for the Athletic Department because this company sells sponsorships for more than 30 other universities, so it will allow us to be part of bigger corporate packages.” Learfield will provide two full-time staffers working within USU’s Athletics Department and will pay their salaries.
Doggett named Host Communications, ISP Sports and a number of regional firms as competitors in Learfield’s market. USU chose to sign with Learfield because they showed the most interest, Doggett said.
According to a Nov. 16, 2006, article by Michael McCarthy for USA Today, commonly the marketing company will guarantee an annual rights fee and then recover that money by selling sponsorships.
“Obviously entering the WAC is great for our athletic program, but we also need to be able to generate more dollars to help with recruiting and facility upgrades,” Doggett said. “Learfield guaranteed a sponsorship dollar figure plus the ability to generate additional dollars.”
Such a revenue-sharing component is a typical feature of these contracts.
The University of Auburn has a nine-year, $51.3 million deal with ISP sports similar in terms if not in dollar amount to what USU signed with Learfield, which was finalized in April 2006, according to USA Today. Jay Jacobs, Auburn’s athletics director, said this “nice sum” pays for Head Football Coach Tommy Tuberville’s salary and that of his entire staff, with money left over.
Beyond the monetary gains for schools which outsource their sports marketing, there is also increased exposure for the program, which helps coaches recruit athletes. Firms like Learfield produce coaches’ shows and the like and then negotiate with regional cable providers to air the content to a potentially wide audience.
“You have to have players to win games,” Tuberville told USA Today. “All the TV shows go directly to selling your program. Because that’s what I am. I’m not a football coach. I’m a salesman.”
With one of Learfield’s areas of emphasis being venue naming rights, the announcement of the deal with USU may have touched off speculation that USU will allow Romney Stadium or the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to be renamed or to be prefaced with a corporate name like the Denver Broncos’ home field, Invesco Field at Mile High. Another example from collegiate athletics would be the University of Louisville, which plays its home football games in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
“Any kind of naming opportunities can be brought to the table, but it would be a bigger decision-making process that would involve the president and the trustees,” Doggett said.
With the multimedia rights being sold as a package, big changes could theoretically be in store for USU sports broadcasts. Doggett said USU is happy with the venerable radio broadcasting team of Al Lewis and Craig Hislop for football games and Lewis and Rod Tueller for basketball games.
“Our intent is to continue to work with KVNU for radio coverage and KJZZ for television coverage of Aggie athletics. The personalities are not only based on USU’s desires, but it’s not our intent to change our broadcast personalities,” she said.
-graham@cc.usu.edu