NEWS: CBS exits talks w/ SEC. College football's highest-rated package probably going to Disney. SEC will make $250M-$300M more per year from premium package of 15 games. That means a raise of close to $20M per school or more whenever the new deal begins.
NEWS: Pac-12 agrees to part ways with commissioner Larry Scott. Conference CEOs just finished meeting tonight. National search for new commissioner will begin immediately.
NEWS: Oklahoma's SoonerVision content, which includes one live football game, the spring football game and more than 100 live events, is moving to ESPN+. It will be the most expansive ESPN+ deal for one school. More in Morning Buzz.
NEWS:
@adidas
will sponsor Pac Pro Football, a league that's an alternative to college football. Footwear, apparel, uniform deal. More details coming in Morning Buzz.
NEWS: The four original Jordan Brand schools (Florida, Michigan, UNC, Oklahoma) will make up the field in a marquee new college basketball event. Men's and women's teams. Starts in Dec 2022. Charlotte Sports Foundation's Danny Morrison running point.
Congrats to the five finalists for SBJ's 2020 AD of the year:
Curt Apsey, Boise State
Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech
Rob Mullens, Oregon
Mack Rhoades, Baylor
Scott Stricklin, Florida
The winner will be announced in May at Sports Business Awards in NY.
In tonight's SBJ College, I share that I'm stepping away from the college beat to focus on my health beginning next month. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2014. Couldn't ask for more support from SBJ's marvelous leadership.
Spent the last 48 hours roadtripping to Penn St with my five college buddies, tailgating like a beast, cheering
@AppState_FB
until I lost my voice, getting my heart broken in OT and loving every minute. The power of college football. Nothing like it.
SBJ today announces 5 finalists for 2018 AD of the Year:
Sandy Barbour, Penn State
Jeff Bourne, James Madison
Boo Corrigan, Army
Jim Phillips, Northwestern
Danny White, UCF
App State's average attendance in 1983 (my freshman year) was 12,873. ... On Saturday, 40,000 fans will fill Kidd Brewer Stadium. Could never have imagined it.
The ACC has always counted on the grant of media rights to prevent schools from defecting to Big Ten or SEC. It's not. Schools have been doing the math.
My first story published in The Charlotte Observer … 1987. My senior year
@appstate
. … This week’s
@JMUFootball
game
@AppState_FB
brings back some memories. App and James Madison have always had the potential for a great rivalry.
NEWS: Wake up! It's July 1 and we have some of the first NIL deals for college athletes. Not surprisingly Fresno State's Cavinder sisters are among the first deals with Six Star, a supplement maker.
Under Armour has informed UCLA that it is attempting to terminate its record $280-million apparel deal with the school. In an email to UCLA constituents, athletic director Dan Guerrero wrote "We are exploring all of our options to resist Under Armour's actions."
Breaking in SBJ: Casey Schwab has assembled a powerhouse team (Urban Meyer, Oliver Luck +) to advise colleges on NIL. Texas, LSU, Arizona St are first clients for the new firm, Altius.
My incredibly smart and talented wife just learned that she passed her boards to become a nationally certified teacher/counselor. In her 26 years, she has helped so many children. Congratulations Lisa!
Lost in all the football chatter is that ESPN gets the first 20 picks of men’s basketball games each season in the Big 12’s new media rights deal (as reported in last night’s SBJ College). The Gonzaga news suddenly makes that a lot more relevant.
Sources:Gonzaga AD Chris Standiford met with Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark in person in Texas last week about Gonzaga potentially joining the Big 12. This is part of broader discussions that have unfolded in recent weeks between the Big 12 and Gonzaga.
After spending nearly 20 hours with Texas AD
@_delconte
on gameday against LSU, I was wiped out, but CDC was still going strong. My inside look at an AD's fast-paced schedule on gameday. (no sub needed).
NEWS: Learfield-IMG College merger official now. Greg Brown and Mark Shapiro delivered the news to employees this morning. A new era in collegiate marketing/media is upon us.
NEWS: Army West Point
@goarmywestpoint
signs Legends
@TheLegendsWay
to design and sale premium in Michie Stadium preservation project. Huge step for AD Mike Buddie
@Buddie52
to create $3M-$4M in new revenue.
NEWS: Teamworks, which works with 5,000 teams across 300-plus athletic departments, has acquired four companies. Its largest round of acquisitions to date. This takes the rapidly growing tech firm into realms of athlete and academic performance.
Found this little gem today in the rough at Meadowlands GC near Winston-Salem. Some coincidence ... ISP was sold exactly 10 years ago this week, which would make this a relic of a golf ball.
IMG College all company call scheduled for tomorrow. Details of merger with Learfield expected to be revealed. Terms and divestitures could be part of it. Deal originally signed October 2017. DOJ review is thought to be complete.
One of the really good guys in college sports, Andy Rawlings, is leaving Learfield/IMG. He looked awfully relaxed yesterday in Vail while we facetimed.
Khan on the Pac-12: "They're in a tough spot ... caught off-guard by Big 12." ... Advice: Do a short-term deal and regroup. ... Be careful of an all-streaming deal and what it does to the relevancy of the schools/conference. ... For Pac-12, this can't just be a money grab.
SBJ: The
@pac12
rejected a deal to partner with
@ESPN
on the struggling
@Pac12Network
. Would have given ESPN control over distribution, but the conference didn't want to cede control of the networks. Story with
@Ourand_SBJ
.
($)
Learfield IMG College, Elevate see opportunities for naming rights, data-driven projects and other revenue-producing ideas. Friendship between
@ColeG13
and
@AlGuido
drove the thinking behind new partnership.
American Ath Conf exploring long-term grant of rights from league members to add value for TV deal. Possible implications for B12 expansion.
(sub required)
John and I started at SBJ the same week in June2006. Ever since, we’ve been best of friends, working together on stories, setting new records for double bylines and breaking a lot of news. He’s as good as they come, both as a friend and reporter. All the best on his new venture.
After 17 years, John Ourand (
@Ourand_SBJ
) says goodbye to
#SBJ
👋
The following was shared with our staff from Publisher & Executive Editor Abe Madkour earlier this morning ⬇️
I’ve never understood why App puts the students in the end zone for basketball. Put the students on the sideline opposite the benches. Start it Thursday. It would be a huge commitment to say that students get the best seats for football and basketball.
It's official: App State-ECU football game in 2021 will move to the Thursday of season-opening weekend at Bank of America Stadium. Game stands a better chance of getting picked up by an ESPN channel on Thursday.
It’s time for the NCAA and Power 5 to sit out 2020-21 in all sports, regroup, take the revenue hit, and work with athlete reps to figure out a model that works for this generation of college athletics. Because doing more of the same ain’t working.
NEWS: Cole Gahagan
@ColeG13
is leaving
@Fanatics
to join
@Learfield
IMG College in a newly created position of President, content, revenue and enterprise solutions. He will oversee all revenue-related aspects of the college sports marketing/media giant.
🔒
The news: Marquette is starting a varsity esports team this fall that will operate out of athletics. What caught my eye is that the university president made the announcement, which speaks to the school's commitment.
A P5 commissioner job has always been considered a destination, but Kevin Warren didn't see it that way. Now he's leaving the
@bigten
to become Bears CEO. ... He checked the two major boxes for a commissioner: new media rights deal; expanded the conference.
Big news in the executive search industry. Kyle Bowlsby
@kbowlsby
is opening his own firm after several years at Korn Ferry. Highly competitive business, but Bowlsby established himself at KF.
Veteran sports sales and marketing exec John Brody is joining
@Learfield
IMG College as Chief Revenue Officer. Brody will lead a “partnerships” staff of around 800, many of whom are embedded at the schools (Terry Lefton).
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