"Upgrades push JMU to top of FCS"

From The Associated Press


Review by Miranda Brewer in KIN 332 (Section 1)

After being away at an internship all summer, James Madison linebacker Pat Williams was in awe at the sight of the new stadium. “It was kind of overwhelming,” said Williams. The new stadium is now the biggest in the Colonial Athletic Association, with new heights in expectations to match. The Dukes have not been back to the playoffs since the semifinal loss to Montana in 2008, but they are expected to finish second in the conference this year. In regards to the stadium itself, head coach Mickey Matthews says the renovations on the home sideline give it an “SEC” feel. The new stadium holds 25,000 people, which is approximately 10,000 more than it did before. Athletic director Jeff Bourne says the next phase of upgrades would increase capacity to around 40,000. Bourne shrugged off the assumption that the expansion is the foundation for a move into the Football Bowl Subdivision. "I-A is really not on the radar screen at this point," he said. "The bottom line is to be the absolute best program in the FCS right now, head to toe."

Marketing comes into play in this article when it talks about the VIP areas. There is a club level on the third floor of the stadium and VIP suites on the fourth. These areas pour money into the university with $200 per club level seat, and as much as $4,500 per suite per game. The first game was almost completely sold out, mostly thanks to the JMU marketing team and their “25K Strong” campaign. The campaign was an effort to fill the stadium for the Dukes’ first home game on September 10, 2011.

Employment Opportunities

Courtesy of Joe Favorito

**MATTER, Edelman Sports & Entertainment Marketing has an immediate opening for a senior account executive for the New York office. Candidates should have 3-6 years relevant communications experience, a solid grasp of the sports & entertainment media landscape and strong writing and organizational skills. https://tbe.taleo.net/NA1/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=EDELMAN&cws=1&rid=1164

**US Road Sports is seeking a highly energetic individual to assist in promoting the Publix Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon, the 13.1 Marathon® Atlanta and other events as necessary. The Marketing Director will assist the marketing and promotion of these events through creative means at the grassroots level, in the local running community and at events throughout the local areas (as determined in conjunction with the VP of Sales and Marketing and the Race Director). Additionally the Marketing Director will be responsible for prospecting and selling local sponsorships to their assigned events. Please email a cover letter, resume and availability to Steve Obert at nphipps@usroadsports.com.

**The Women’s Sports Foundation (http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/), founded in 1974, is the leader in promoting sports, health and education for girls and women. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the VP, Sponsorship & Marketing is a key member of the senior leadership team and will oversee a staff of four. The primary responsibilities of this position are: corporate sponsorship and marketing (digital, traditional, branding and public relations). This position will also work closely with a national Board of Trustees to achieve the WSF's funding and marketing goals. The successful candidate will be a dynamic, innovative business development or marketing executive able to build and manage a high-performing sponsorship and marketing program. Candidates from the nonprofit or corporate sector will be considered. For full position specification, please visit: http://www.sandlerassociates.org/searches.html.

**Southern Methodist University has an opening for a Manager of Sponsorship Sales for their Athletic Programs…the details are here… With us owning our commercial and marketing rights in-house, this is a wonderful opportunity for someone. https://access.smu.edu/psp/ps/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL?Page=HRS_CE_HM_PRE&Action=A&SiteId=1

**Ludus Tours is a travel and hospitality company focused on many of the world’s biggest and best events, including the London Summer Games and FIFA World Cup. They are also among the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies. Ludus is seeking an Account Manager for Aquatics. This role will be responsible for managing existing relationships USA Water Polo, USA Swimming, USA Diving and USA Synchro. Former high-level aquatics athletes are encouraged to apply. The job is fulltime and is based in San Diego. Please send resume and references to jobs@ludustours.com

**The USTA Eastern Section has an immediate opening for a Competition Coordinator position. Duties will be to provide assistance to the Director of Competition and Player Development. In addition to a competitive salary, the successful candidate will be eligible for the following benefits: All interested individuals should forward a resume, cover letter, and salary requirements to: bliss@eastern.usta.com

**The WWE, based in Stamford, Ct., is looking for a Manager or Director of Corporate Communications. The company is based in Stamford CT, but you can split your time and work out of NYC also. Television experience is a plus. Please send your resumes to justine.sacco@wwecorp.com

**There are editorial openings at SportsBusiness Daily. All jobs based in Charlotte, NC. Must have excellent writing and copy editing skills, strong knowledge of the sports business, be familiar and comfortable with news aggregation and comfortable working on multiple deadlines. If interested, send resume to jobs@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

**The new National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which will start play in 2013-14, is seeking a commissioner to work out of their Colorado Springs headquarters. Interested parties with at least ten years experience in sports and business administration should contact kathleenporter@staffordsports.com

**The USGA, based in Far Hills, NJ, is looking for a Manager of Championship Communications. The position will direct overall championship communications efforts, with primary emphasis on the media relations and media center operations at the USGA’s national championships and team events. The job will also have other functions, including coordinating media coverage of the organization throughout the year. The position requires 5-10 years experience in Journalism, media/public relations, writing, event planning skills and golf knowledge required. Interpersonal, problem solving, organizational skills; large and simultaneous project planning and implementation; four-year college degree or higher from an accredited institution, with focus on Communications, Media Relations, or Journalism required; working relationship(s) with media, varied computer skills preferred. Positive attitude and the ability to display consistent initiative that reflects a fresh approach and new ideas. Send info to: mtagliernie@usga.org.

**INTERN WANTED for two U.S. sports federations based in New York with international branches in Europe, South America and Asia. Jack-of-all-trades wanted for handling research, social media, website maintenance and some financial and administrative tasks. Must be tech-savvy; poker and knowledge of mind sports (chess, bridge, checkers, Go) a plus. Great opportunity to get hands-on experience on two exciting start-ups with global reach; possibility of advancement and great contacts. Send CV to ah@us.pokerfed.org

"NBA and Sprint connect for deal"

From the Sports Business Journal

Review by Frank Ramunni in KIN 332 (Section 2)

In a recent article written the week of September 5, 2011 in Sports Business Journal it was determined that the National Basketball Association and Sprint Mobile have come to an agreement on a four year sponsorship deal. The deal was successfully completed due to the NBA and T-Mobile terminating their once existing contract. The new sponsorship deal was kept quiet to many most likely because of the current lockout the league is in. One of the more impressive parts of this deal is the price, a $45 million rights fee and a total agreement of $250 million, including media commitments and other miscellaneous agreements. Also, a lot of the talking and meeting about this agreement was happening during the 2011 NBA finals and T-Mobile lost simply because they offered substantially less than Sprint, 15-20 % less. In fact, another interesting part of this deal was that Metro PCS almost out bid Sprint to make a deal happen with the NBA.

In my opinion, I feel that it is not going to be an easy hill to climb for Sprint because of T-Mobile’s apparent success with their marketing and advertising. For many years, I would find myself laughing at Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade T-Mobile commercials and they obviously must have made tons of money through their advertising for the company because they had such a long and thorough contract with the NBA. I also feel that the aspect of this contract that has the potential to make Sprint even more money is the fact that they are coming out with the iPhone. The iPhone will enable the use of many downloadable applications that Sprint will be linked to the NBA with. All in all, I think the deal that Sprint Mobile and the NBA have come to have the potential and opportunities to do big things and make large strides in the business marketing and advertising departments.

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Review by Jeff Wilkins in KIN 332 (Section 2)

For my article review, I decided to pick out an article from the Sports Business Daily Journal. In the Sports Business Daily Journal, I chose the article titled “NBA and Sprint Connect for Deal.” In the article, staff writer John Lombardo discusses how Sprint came to an agreement of $250 million dollars and teamed up to sponsor the NBA. As we all know, the NBA is going through a lockout and Sprint quietly came to an agreement with the league.

Sprint and the NBA came to an agreement of $45 million for their rights fee agreeing to a four year sponsorship. The $45 million rights fee was one of the largest ever collected by the league. The total value came out to $250 million due to media commitments and contractual requirements. Before talking to Sprint, the NBA had been talking to AT&T during the finals in June but couldn’t come to an agreement. The new mobile network, MetroPCS, had been competing with Sprint in regards to who would sign with the NBA but Sprint had come out as the leader paying 15-20% more than the NBA wireless sponsor T-Mobile had been paying. T-Mobile had been the league’s most active sponsor over the past six years and now Sprint will be taking over.

When talking about the marketing and sports marketing implications from the following article, Sprint will be marketing its new iPhone coming out in October in hopes that it will be able to explode with sales due to the fact that the NBA plans to launch in early November. Through the NBA, Sprint will be able to market its 4G wireless internet service and build brand awareness to viewers and people within the NBA. Sprint hasn’t been a top-level sponsor since losing NFL rights after the 2009 season. They are hoping to be able to build up their network through the NBA and increase sales as the season moves on.