Must be the money: Part II
Commissioners say stay put
ROSCOE NANCE
Special to the BCSP
"If it's a success for them, hopefully there will be a model for others to follow and improve on," says Mid Eastern Athletic Conference commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas.
Southwestern Athletic Conference commissioner Robert Vowels shares that view.
"The first school that makes it will open the flood gates," he says. "Folks will look at that model to see how they can use it with their school. The landscape is changing."
But despite Florida A&M's leap and
Virginia Tech and Miami leaving the Big East Conference
for the ACC, which is sure to lead to realignment in
other conferences, the landscape hasn't changed enough
to convince Thomas and Vowels that Division IA is
the route their member institutions should take.
Both believe that there is money to be made at the IAA level, and they are endeavoring to develop revenue streams for the member institutions of their respective conferences so none will feel compelled to follow Florida A&M's lead.
"It's been proven that you can generate revenues at the IAA level," Thomas says. "Some think there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in Division IA. There is a pot of gold for some institutions. For others there's a pot of boiling water."
Membership in Division IA, where schools can potentially be part of the Bowl Championship Series, compete in major postseason bowl games and gain greater television exposure, is a quick fix solution for generating new revenues. But it is also a high-risk proposition that is reliant on schools being able to align themselves with the right conference.
"You have to look at what the facts say," says Thomas. "It's like Mark Twain said. There are lies. There are damn lies and there are statistics. It all depends on how you look at the numbers. If you look at them realistically, IA isn't the financial bonanza people, both black and white, may think it is.
"There are 117 Division IA programs. Only 35-40 are actually breaking even. That's the overall athletic program. Contrary to what people perceive, all those schools in the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Pac 10, Big 12, Mountain West and Conference USA aren't making money, and those are the super conferences. Given the economics of our world, the financial aspect of intercollegiate athletics is more pronounced than it has ever been."
With that in mind, Vowels and Thomas believe it is more prudent for IAA programs to remain at their current classification and develop strategies for increasing revenues. That's the game plan they're employing in their conferences.
Vowels, who has been commissioner of the SWAC since December, has a four-point plan 1) Television and rights fees 2) A corporate partnership program 3) Licensing and merchandising 4) Branding through the Internet.
"This is a model I've had in the back of mind ever since I got into this business," says Vowels, whose four-point plan is similar to what many Division IA conferences and schools are doing. "All athletic departments are financially strapped and looking at ways to generate new revenues. Folks are realizing that you don't have to be Division IA to do those kinds of things," he says. "We've got some sharp folk. (CIAA commissioner) Leon Kerry realized that. That's why the CIAA basketball tournament is so successful. It takes patience. It's going to take some time. We're bearing fruit. They are great numbers, but it's enough for people to say hang in there."
SWAC football, through its deal with MBC, has the most extensive television coverage ever. The conference also has a corporate partner program with New Vision Sports Properties to find corporate sponsorship. Vowels says both ventures are paying dividends. PSI 20/20, Aeropostale, Dada Footwear, Arista Communications, Coca-Cola, Imiren Pharmaceuticals, Alabama Power, Co., and the City of Birmingham are all corporate sponsors of the conference, and 13 SWAC games will be televised this season.
"This market is attractive to corporate sponsors because of the sagging economy," he says. "They're trying to capitalize on dollars they haven't capitalized on before. Most companies have ethnic marketing managers looking at Latino, African-American and Hispanics regarding their products."
Vowels is especially excited about the TV exposure SWAC has received. Recently, four SWAC teams were televised on the same weekend, and the Alcorn State-Grambling State game on Sept. 13 played in Shreveport, La., had a 2.6 rating and a four share on the UPN station in New Orleans.
"We hadn't had those ratings before so we couldn't go to a sponsor and say this is what we have to offer," Vowels says. "Now that we're getting ratings we can use this data to our advantage. You will see rights fees increase and us capitalizing on those games where we're putting 70,000 folks in the stadium."
Thomas, who has been commissioner of the MEAC for 13 months, is focusing on marketing to attract corporate partners as a means of generating additional revenues.
"You have to make your conference as a whole attractive to corporate America," he says. "You have to make your conference as a whole a good investment for corporate America. They have to see a good return on their investment. That's business. If you can position yourself in such a way that you can show that you have institutions that have cornered the market on upwardly mobile, educated alumni, that's a good investment. You have to put together a sellable and accurate marketing plan for corporations that value diversity in their workplace and value black institutions' ability to produce productive citizens for the workforce. That's how we package our product in the MEAC."
The MEAC has six corporate sponsors with deals that in most instances are in the six figure range.
"The more corporate sponsors you bring on board, the more revenue streams you produce," says Thomas, "and the more money you can deliver to your membership. That means they will have more money to run successful programs. We're seeing dividends, but to reach our goal we have to tap into untapped sources such as dot com companies, energy companies, financial institutions and communications companies."
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.