D1.ticker - News from Monday, May 2, 2016

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Utah AD Hill's tree grows as Montana State brass selected Utes Deputy AD Brennan as the next Bobcats boss. Prez Cruzado on why Brennan was the choice, "I think Kyle had more direct experience with all the different areas, particularly with compliance. He also had more experience with more teams â€” both men's and women's. He presented a very balanced curriculum." Brennan on his new gig, which will begin in Bozeman no later than July 1, says MSU supporters should get ready to talk about supporting the program in a greater fashion in order to fund new facility projects, "We've got to get people motivated and excited, but it's a great opportunity, and I think we can take it to the next level." - link

Navigate Research ran 40,000 models for the Big 12 in trying to determine how many schools the conference should include & if a FB championship game would lead to more likely access to the College FB Playoff. The results: A 12- team league playing an eight-game conference slate, plus a title game would give the Big 12 a 4% to 5% better chance to see representation in the CFP. Commish Bowlsby, "You name a scenario, they modeled it... If we do nothing, we'll fall behind the SEC and the Big Ten in terms of [revenue]. We may be every bit as competitive as we are today, but we'll fall behind financially." - link

News on the Big 12 of course leads to more expansion chatter, this time out of Tampa & Cincinnati. Tampa Bay Times scribe Knight caught up with notable USF Sport & Entertainment professor Sutton on the Bulls chance to crack the Big 12, "Institutional compatibility. Like-minded presidents â€¦ and I think we stack up really well there. They're also looking at television market, and I think we stack up well there. They're looking at (fan and booster) support, and we're probably not where we need to be there." More. (link); Cincinnati Enquirer's Williams points to the Bearcats geographic position close to Morgantown, WV, Prez Ono doing everything possible to rally support & being liked by West Virginia Prez Gee & Oklahoma boss Boren, notes the challenge of a 75% super majority vote needed by Big 12 leaders to expand (link).

Conference USA Commish MacLeod commented on her league's TV situation, says when it's done exposure for the conference will be "fantastic," but also points to a "horrible" TV market for those not in the 'Power 5' that she believes will lead to a greater gap between the 'haves' & 'have-nots.' Will do a short-term deal with a handful of networks to keep options open for the future, will try to make-up some lost revenue by hiring a sponsorship director to rally more dollars, keeping an eye on the landscape, but no plans for expansion at the moment. - link

Minneapolis Star Tribune's Scoggins says there are reservations from the candidate pool on Minnesota's 16-person AD search committee, all of whom will be involved in every in-person interview. Indicates it's not as much about confidentiality concerns as it is the perception of having so many voices to convince. Understands why Prez Kaler went with such a large group, but notes how complicated the process has become because of it. - link

UAB AD Ingram & FB HC Clark rally in response to a report that their working relationship isn't on the most firm footing. Ingram, in part, "I continue to be 100 percent in support of Blazer Football Head Coach Bill Clark as we all work to ensure a successful return of FBS college football." Clark's turn, "Mark and I both know and understand the value of football and are in full agreement that the goal of UAB Football is excellence... I have confidence in our athletics department working with the football program and the direction we are headed." - link

Updates from Notre Dame: The $400m Campus Crossroads project is adding premium seating to Notre Dame Stadium & sales have been brisk as almost all of the 3,000 additions have been scooped up. One-time capital gifts range from $20k to $40k with an annual commitment in the $2,200 to $2,800 range. The Fighting Irish benchmarked against investment structures at Tennessee, TCU & Baylor. (link); Notre Dame has also announced a new concession deal with Levy Restaurants for its athletic venues. Centerplate was the incumbent. (link).

SBJ's Smith peels back the curtain on Arizona State's in-house sponsorship sales unit led by AVP & Chief Business Development Officer McElroy. Interestingly, a Pac-12 unit, "Pac-12 MMR," technically employs all the Sun Devils sales staffers & assists with administrative functions, but all net revenue flows directly to ASU. For the 2015-16 effort, McElroy expects to clear over $8m & thinks five to ten percent growth can be achieved next year. Arizona State was receiving a guarantee in the $6m to $7m range from IMG College, but the inventories aren't totally apples to apples. McElroy likes being "firmly in control of our own destiny," more. - link (may be behind a paywall)

Penn selects JMI Sports to handle its sponsorship portfolio as AD Calhoun says JMI brass have a good handle on the Quakers brand regionally, nationally & internationally. The deal includes the Penn Relays & aligns Penn with the Ivy League's move that has JMI in charge of league-wide sales, as well (link); To that end, the Ivy League hired former Subway global director of sports marketing and strategic partnerships Bamundo as its first CMO (link, scroll down).

Updates from Miami (FL): The Hurricane Club announced a record 8,100 active members this month, marking an 80% increase in active membership since 2010. The 2016 goal is 8,300 members (link); In the event renovations to the new Sun Life Stadium are not complete in time for the Canes season opener against FAMU on Sept. 3, AD James says "Weâ€™re putting a contingency plan in place and if itâ€™s something that we need to roll out, we will, at the right time. With that said, the Dolphins are committed to having the stadium ready." Whatever venue is chosen needs to accommodate the more than 40k season ticket holders. (link)

Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment has secured rights to sell a naming rights deal for Camp Nou, home to FC Barcelona, which could end up being the biggest in the history of sports to date at a price point of $30m per year. Relationship also includes moving five to six founding partner sponsorships, along with a new kit deal for the mega-club, the latter of which is out in pitches for $65m annually. - link

presented by Anthony Travel

Idaho's coming move to the Big Sky for FB reviewed from the conference's perspective by The Missoulian's Mazzolini. Montana AD Haslam points to a 14-team league that could be getting a bit too large. Outgoing Commish Fullerton bullish on the Vandals addition, "It's not like we've done this blindly. ... It gives us opportunity for anything you want to do." More. - link

The Student-Athletes Human Rights Project is lobbying new Washington State Prez Schulz and National Association of Basketball Coaches Executive Director Haney to re-examine transfer restrictions placed on graduating MBB student-athlete Izundu, whom HC Kent & a Faculty Senate appeals panel believe was tampered with by San Diego State, which just so happens to appear on WSU's schedule next year. The group calls WSU's actions "an abuse of power," chides Kent for limiting rights being "a man of color" himself, and states that â€œthe lack of transparency calls in question the validity at any efforts WSU frames as due process." - link

Tennessee AD Hart explains the process for completing "20-year conversations" to finally hold a FB game on the Bristol Motor Speedway infield, an event that is expected to draw a capacity crowd of 160k. Both UT and Bristol had timing/lack-of-interest issues along the way, but Hart intensified talks when he and HC Jones felt UT would be "at a peak, competing at the top of the national pyramid, where we were recruiting," as they wanted an increased presence in that geographic footprint. - link

Illinois interim Chancellor Wilson announced that she will form a steering committee to select a new mascot, while keeping Fighting Illini as the school's nickname. Resistance will still be felt, explained by the student who still represents former symbol (not mascot, per the school) Chief Illiniwek at games without UI's consent, "We're not going to stop. We're going to keep appearing at football and basketball games. (The decision) felt rushed. In previous times (when a new mascot was discussed), it's been 75 to 80 percent saying they wanted the Chief or no mascot." - link

Rutgers is awaiting the final Big Ten FB broadcast schedule to finalize plans for an outdoor wrestling match that would take place at High Point Solutions Stadium as a separate-admission event prior to a desired primetime slot for its FB game against visiting Penn State. The first event of the day is projected to FB fans who might not otherwise attend a wrestling match, as well as provide an opportunity to elongate tailgating activities. As you likely recall, Iowa had significant success with this type of execution last year. - link

Marshall AD Hamrick indicates that MU should have a decision in 2-3 weeks on whether or not it will expand beer sales at FB games, notes that West Virginia raking in $2.88m over the past five years makes the discussion worth having, says ticket sales need to improve, and states that MU will not end its pass-out ticket policy, which is credited, in large part, for reducing "headaches" at WVU games.- link

Amazon pushed & lost to Twitter on the NFL's Thursday Night streaming package, but it's an indication the online giant may be getting serious about streaming sports. Plus, the company recently hired former Relativity Media, Sports Illustrated & Time executive DeLorenzo to lead the sports rights investigation. re/code's Kafka, "We donâ€™t know how big Amazonâ€™s ambitions in sports are, but it certainly has the resources to spend its way into the marketplace if it wants to." - link

presented by P aciolan

SBJ's Ourand asks, "Does media rights bubble have a leak?" The answer is "no" when considering recent deals for the NFL, NBA, NCAA Tournament & the Big Ten, but also "yes" when thinking of smaller properties, like Conference USA or soccer's International Champions Cup. Spoke with a number of executives in the space, some of whom don't think networks are pulling back because of cord-cutting concerns, but more so because their long-term bets have already been made. Lots more. - link (may be behind pay wall)

With its first changes in more than 20 years, the Virginia Tech Hokie Club updates donation guidelines effective March 2017. FB and MBB season-ticket holders will now have to make per-seat gift contributions - between $50-$800 for FB and $100-$500 for MBB - to maintain membership benefit levels. One reason for the change is the $4.2m shortfall between donations to the VT Athletic Fund and rising scholarship costs. Tech also raised minimum donations required for club benefits, added three new levels of giving, and restructured its club priority point system. - link

Dartmouth's school paper with a look at, "The effect of NCAA practice restrictions on student-athletes." The Ivy League places off-season restrictions of six hours per week, which is less than the eight mandated by the NCAA. A handful of Dartmouth student-athletes comment on their time commitments, in particular women's rugby player Zepeda, "â€œIâ€™d say I have less free time to do miscellaneous things but itâ€™s good because my schedule forces me to be on top of my game for school so I can also succeed as an athlete." - link

A Northern Illinois task force presented its recommendations on bettering the institution, which includes athletics becoming more self-sufficient, as well as suggesting the elimination of Cheerleading, a Men's non-revenue sports & its ticketing operation. All in all, the group suggested further reviewing 41 programs around the university that could be cut, along with another 44 that could be funded at a lesser level. - link

Facility updates: Virginia's Board of Visitors is discussing the build of a new championship-level, 12-court Tennis facility for the Cavaliers, adding a community asset is also a driver (link); Northwestern State AD Burke talks about the 'arms race' as the Demons announced four upgrade projects that will cost a total of $1.7m (link); A community beam-signing was held for the new Luth Athletic Complex at Holy Cross, made possible by a $32.5m lead gift from the namesake (link); Texas A&M's Regents officially approved the build of a new Softball stadium & new Track & Field home for the Aggies (link).

Moves: Former IMG College leader Nickell named CEO at Raycom Sports (link); Continued departures at ESPN could include college FB play-by-play man Nessler to CBS & the NFL's Dilfer out of the mix (link); CBS Sports elevated Aagaard to EVP of Innovation, Research & Development, meaning Power now steps up to lead all operations, including those for March Madness (link).

One more 1.Q in conversation with college sports TV scheduling expert Sarzyniak, who touches on what developments he's watching closely for the upcoming FB season, how often he's contacted by administrators throughout the industry & his future plans for the service. Here's Matt's blog (link), Twitter feed (link) & shared Google sheet of the 2016 TV schedule matrix (link). Listen by clicking the link. - link (length - 5:36)

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Associate Athletic Director (Georgia Tech Athletics / Atlanta, GA): Provides leadership across Georgia Tech Athletics, with oversight of student-athletes & sport administration for women's basketball, volleyball, softball, men's & women's tennis, track & field. More details HERE.

Athletic Facilities Maintenance Coordinator (Arizona State University / Tempe, AZ): ASU seeks an Athletic Facilities Maint Coord who, coordinates and performs the maintenance and preparation of facilities for various events. Salary: $33K-$36K; DOE. Deadline: 3pm (AZ time), 5/13/16. More details HERE.

Major Gifts Officer 4 (Director of Major Gifts) (Pennsylvania State University / State College, PA): Top frontline fundraiser needed in the role of Director of Major Gifts to engage alumni and friends as partners in supporting Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, a member of the Big Ten Conference. More details HERE.

Assistant Director - Fan Development (University of Minnesota - Twin Cities / Minneapolis, MN): Develop, direct, coordinate strategic marketing plans. Work with the department for sports to ensure communication to stake holders and their events are attended by the greatest amount of people. More details HERE.

Senior Associate Athletic Director (University of Northern Iowa / Cedar Falls, IA): Serves on senior staff; oversees specific sport program areas; ensures programs operate in full compliance with NCAA & conference rules; establishes, implements & monitors gender equity plan; etc. More details HERE.

Social Media & Digital Engagement Coordinator (Kansas State University / K-State Athletics, Inc. / Manhattan, KS): A full-time salaried position responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive social media/digital marketing strategy for K-State Athletics channels. More details HERE.

Associate Director of Marketing (UCLA / Los Angeles, CA): Responsible for the oversight, development, and implementation of the department's marketing and promotional efforts of special events and specific sports, including Women's Basketball. More details HERE.

Director of Video Content - Athletics (James Madison University / Harrisonburg, VA): The Director of Athletics Video Content will guide and direct the department's video strategy related to event coverage, creative content and collaboration with other key content developers. More details HERE.

Director of Marketing for Athletics (SMU / Dallas, TX): The Director of Marketing is responsible for formulating and implementing promotional and marketing plans to increase interest, attendance and financial support for the athletics department. More details HERE.

Director of Compliance (Georgia Tech Athletics / Atlanta, GA): Provide leadership & oversight with development, administration, evaluation & oversight of compliance program, including education, monitoring, interpretation, & overall enforcement of policies. More details HERE.

Director of Events & Event Services (University of Dayton / Dayton, OH): The Director of Events and Event Services, coordinates personnel and daily activities involved in the execution of events, including event staff, security and safety of the facility and guests. More details HERE.

Athletic Marketing Graduate Assistant (Clemson University Athletic Department / Clemson, SC): Offers a recent college graduate an opportunity to experience all aspects of external operations with a heavy emphasis on marketing and game management while completing a graduate degree program. More details HERE.

Social Media Specialist (Auburn University Athletics / Auburn, AL): Auburn Athletics is seeking qualified candidates to serve as the manager of social media for the department, including accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, Snapchat and YouTube. More details HERE.

Director of Event Operations & Athletic Facilities (Georgia Tech Athletics / Atlanta, GA): This position has overall oversight & leadership in event operations & athletic facilities. Primary ownership includes game management of football, external events management, & select facilities. More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director for Development - Annual Fund & Premium Seating (Temple University / Philadelphia, PA): The Associate Athletics Director for Development will develop and manage all aspects of the premium seat and seat donations programs and is responsible for all aspects of the Owl Club program. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director - Communications & Public Relations (Georgia Tech Athletics / Atlanta, GA): The Assistant Athletic Director, Athletic Communications & Public Relations provides strategic leadership and direction across the athletic communications and public relations department. More details HERE.

Senior Associate Athletics Director for Business & Finance (University of Washington / Seattle, WA): Serve on the executive team to achieve departmental goals and objectives. Manage an annual budget in excess of $100 million, manage internal business operations, and long-term financial planning. More details HERE.

Marketing Assistant (University of Oregon / Eugene, OR): The University of Oregon Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is seeking an aggressive, creative and self-motivated individual for the position of Marketing and Promotions Intern. More details HERE.

Director of Athletics (Bowling Green State University / Bowling Green, OH): The Director of Intercollegiate Athletics has direct responsibility for the Universityâ€™s NCAA Division I Intercollegiate Athletics Program and manages the Stroh Center and the BGSU Ice Arena. The Director supervises a staff of approximately 135 and manages an annual budget of $25.6 million. The position reports directly to the President of the University and is a member of the Presidentâ€™s Cabinet. More details HERE.

Sr. Development Officer/Development Officer - Athletics (University of Minnesota - Twin Cities / Minneapolis, MN): The Development Officer will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding major gifts, both current and deferred, to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director - Fan Development (University of Minnesota - Twin Cities / Minneapolis, MN): Serve as a leader in the athletics department in support of its mission, vision and values. This position will provide strategic direction to the fan development unit within the department. More details HERE.

Director of Communications (Grand Canyon University / Phoenix, AZ): GCU seeks Director of Communications to assist with the gathering and dissemination of statistics and information for its intercollegiate athletic teams, both to internal and external sources. More details HERE.

Marketing Graduate Assistant (University of Louisiana Monroe / Monroe, LA): Mktg and promo coordinator for soccer, baseball and assistance with menâ€™s and womenâ€™s basketball, as well as football. Create scripts, in-game proms, mktg plans, and PA for non-revenue sports. More details HERE.

Director of MustangVision Productions (SMU / Dallas, TX): The Director of MustangVision Productions will be responsible for the overall management, vision and growth of the SMUâ€™s video production services. More details HERE.

Assistant Coach - Women's Soccer (UNC Asheville / Asheville, NC): Assist in all phases of a NCAA Division I womenâ€™s soccer program in a manner that upholds the philosophy and objectives of the Athletics Department, University, and Big South Conference. More details HERE.

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