"WNBA lands Boost Mobile as top sponsor"

From the Sports Business Journal

Review by Megan Fessler in KIN 332 (Section 2)

In one of the more beneficial and definitely the mostwide-ranging sponsorships in its history, the WNBA has signed Boost Mobile asits one and only “marquee” partner in a contract that will put the company’slogo on most WNBA team jerseys. The WNBAand Boost Mobile are in an agreement to a four year contract and a ten milliondollar partnership. Boost Mobile willalso be the title sponsor for the WNBA All-star games, the playoffs, andfinals. This deal size makes BoostMobile the most significant sponsorship in the history of the WNBA. The addition of Boost Mobile also gives theleague fifteen corporate market partnerships. The Boost Mobile logo will be on the front of the jerseys, under thenumber in a patch.

The Boost Mobile contract is a wide-ragingsponsorship. Not only are theyadvertising on the front of the teams jerseys’, but they will also get floors,pole pads, and courtside signage in the WNBA arenas. Boost Mobile will also be the present sponsorof WNBA top fifteen moment’s program, which is a special to be aired on NBA TVon Fridays and online for fans to vote. “The Boost Mobile deal is good for the league and good for the teams,”said Greg Bibb, chief operating officer of the Washington Mystics, the mostrecent team to sign a local jersey sponsorship. This contract will most definitely raise positive awareness of theleague.

Other WNBA teams will still be able to sign their ownlocal marquee deals. The assets of thisdeal, jersey visibility to the court, visibility to the overall stature of theBoost Mobile brand, it’s a great alignment. It is a cost-effective way to side with with a premier women’s sports brand.

--

Review by Stephen Beiro in KIN 332 (Section 2)

Boost Mobileand the WNBA agreed on a four-year/ $10 million deal that makes Boost Mobilethe sole marquee partner of the WNBA and the league's 15th corporate marketingpartnership. This deal puts a Boost Mobile patch just below the numbers onjerseys the 10 WNBA teams who don't already have wireless sponsorship deals.Boost Mobile becomes the title sponsor of the WNBA All-Star Game, and also thepresenting sponsor of this year's WNBA playoffs and Finals. Boost Mobile willhave floor and courtside signage in WNBA arenas and is one of the biggest dealsin league history. League-level marquee talks have been around for a while andit is great for the WNBA and the teams to have a marquee sponsor. The marqueelevel is a new top marketing tier for the league which includes jersey, court,and much other exposure. Boost Mobile is always trying to find new ways to getbrand exposure at good value and found it with the WNBA. The female athleticaudience will now be aware of Boost Mobile, which increases potentialcustomers. Both sides see the deal as a great opportunity for exposure andexpansion and want to make the partnership as successful as possible. Teamsthat already have sponsorship deals and put logos on their jerseys will have toshare the space with Boost Mobile. Multiple local sponsorships are allowed butthe Boost Mobile logo will have to be seen if the team does not have anotherwireless sponsorship. Both sides are excited about the deal which shows thatthere is a great chance for success between the two organizations.

"NCAA's Leadership Failure in Governing the Commercialization of College Sports"

From the New York Times


Review by Mac Mountcastle in KIN 332 (Section 1)

The National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA was designed for one main purpose. The NCAA is there to regulate the fairness and safety of competition, also bring the college athletics into higher education for the student-athlete gets a high standard education. However, with college sports becoming more commercialized, especially in football and basketball, it has been difficult for the NCAA to regulate the college sports. Around the country football and basketball are the two main sports that fund the other sports offered by the university. One big debate in this article is where it talks about “making these commercial athletic enterprises non-profit organizations for tax purposes”, considering all the revenue they bring to the rest of the university. As far as Sports marketing goes the elite college conferences have just recently signed billion dollar deals to gain publicity on national television during their football games. This causes risks of violations, because of what the article says “imbalance of compensation” being that coaches and Athletic directors are compensated when the players are left out. This could lead to paying of the players when the teams are making all the money in revenue from ticket sales. Maybe even the booster supporters of the team pay the players, which is in turn still against the rules. This whole article boils down to the point that the amount of money a college generates in revenue needs to be well regulated. The NCAA should be able to tell all universities that only a certain amount can go back to Athletic Directors and coaches, so the coaches do not know what is available to them. That way coaches cannot offer recruits money when they do not know what the college is receiving in revenue. The NCAA needs to make it so they regulate how each university spends revenue towards sports especially football, and basketball. The article comes right out and says the entire problem, which is “more money equals more problems”. If the NCAA can govern the money flow the problem would be solved.

KIN 435 Students Participate in the 2011 JMU Football Home Opener

Select students from KIN 435 class had a successful JMU football game day experience last weekend.  The students assisted the Athletics Marketing department with setup of the JMU Fan Zone on Godwin Field, game program distribution, and oversight of giveaway items.  A few students were also placed in the Gate A ticket booth to assist the Athletic Ticket Office.