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Make that money: USA Today reports the SEC made $527.4m in 2014-15, an impressive 60% jump from 2013-14, back in 2008-09 the figure stood at just $150m, revenue surplus for FY15 was $17.2m, TV & radio rights surged to $311.8m (up from $210.4m) thanks to the SEC Network, post-season proceeds also up sharply to $162.8m (up from $98.6m), former Commish Slive made $3.655m in total compensation, Executive Assoc. Commish Womack at $430k, current Commish Sankey was at $410k, more - link
Washington Prez Cauce names Senior Assoc. AD & 15-year department veteran Cohen as Interim AD for the Huskies, "She understands the needs of the department very well and has a birds-eye view of the challenges it faces, particularly at this time of escalating costs and finite revenues. Her work in managing major fundraising projects will serve her very well in this regard." The Seattle Times entry also says the university is forming an internal search committee & that Cohen "is believed to be a leading candidate to replace Scott Woodward as UW’s permanent athletic director" - link
Watch: KCRG-TV9 out of Cedar Rapids reports former Missouri State, Kansas & Northern Iowa FB HC Allen's name has surfaced for the open UNI AD job, "The search continues for a new Athletic Director at UNI & several sources close to the athletic department have mentioned the name Terry Allen as a serious candidate for the job...Allen spent seven years as the Head Football Coach at UNI. He knows the athletic program and the challenges they face in Cedar Falls and he's a very popular figure in the Cedar Valley." - link
The Board of Trustees meeting at Illinois tomorrow will not include a vote on a new AD per the Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette, the agenda for the meeting was finalized yesterday morning without the motion, the article also mentions comments from Prez Killeen that the search might now stretch into the first few weeks of February after targeting the end of the month for its conclusion, so we'll continue to whistle & wait - link
More financial results as Texas generated $183.5m in 2014-15, which resulted in a profit over just over $458k, $9.8m was pushed back to the university, total revenue amount was a $22m increase from 2013-14 & $18m more than the previous department record set in 2012-13, fundraising results were up by $2m to $39.5m under former AD Patterson's watch, FB was accountable for $120.7m in revenue & produced a $94.8m profit, MBB ($6.4m) & Baseball ($1.6m) were the only other programs to be in the black - link
Auburn AD Jacobs details his "16 for 16" goal & action items for the Tigers this year, four goals/areas of focus are academics, student-athlete experience, facilities & winning, 12 action items include upgrades to digs for Softball, Equestrian & Volleyball, the latter of which would see a revamp to Auburn Arena to give VB a new permanent home, still studying & surveying on potential enhancements to Jordan-Hare Stadium, targeted hires include a "proven, results-oriented leader" as Senior Assoc. AD for Academic Services, as well as a new of Chief Inclusion Officer to "foster a culture of diversity," more - link (article), link (presser video of "16 for 16")
Pitt AD Barnes hosted a "Town Hall" last night that included a 45-minute state of the department review, followed by a Q&A with the 450 fans in attendance, says the Panthers have narrowed the gap on FB, Softball, Men's Soccer & WBB coaching salaries compared to the rest of the ACC, but more progress is needed, details up to $10m in facility projects, wants to establish a "culture of major gift fundraising" that hasn't been present in the department previously, improvements to the game atmosphere at Heinz Field, the expansion of alcohol sales & upgrading the MBB non-conference schedule also reviewed - link
Memphis AD Bowen on the positioning of his FB program, "We're this close to something extraordinary. Our perception of what we're building here has never been better." $40m "Time to Shine" fundraising campaign has raked-in $37m to date, FB season tickets up to 16k, last year's average attendance was 43k with high water marks of 60k for Ole Miss & 55k for Navy at the Liberty Bowl, a number of pundits have given Bowen major points for the hire of new FB HC Norvell - link
Another Big Ten department inks a new deal with Nike as Illinois signs on the dotted line for $44.5m over 10 years, while the value is 3x over the current agreement between the two parties there's no cash component as the balance will be satisfied in uniforms, apparel & gear, Asst. AD for Biz Dev Kaufman, "We wanted every coach to be able to look every recruit in the eye and say, 'You'll have everything you'll possibly need.' No other school will be able to say they'll equip them any better." New pact goes into effect on July 1 of this year, $1.2m annually in products & $325k in cash are the main terms of the expiring agreement - link
ESPN Prez Skipper goes on the offensive, submits answers to questions from the Wall Street Journal, on cord-cutters, "The people who’ve traded down have tended to not be sports fans, and have tended to be older and less affluent." On the topic of an OTT service with all ESPN properties included, "We are still engaged in the most successful business model in the history of media, and see no reason to abandon it." Notes the OTT test of the Cricket World Cup last year that was profitable with 100k purchasers at $100 a pop, says games can be broadcast with more fixed cameras to save money on production costs, company is approaching $500m in digital revenue, more - link
Experiencing the World presented by Anthony Travel
Fortune's Colvin on the importance of the new CEO hire of Rorsted at Adidas, "Henkel immediately lost $2 billion of market value on the news, and Adidas, a smaller company, immediately gained $1 billion – on a day when German stocks overall lost ground. All because of one man planning to change jobs nine months from now. Everybody nods their head when you say human capital is really important, but it’s easy to forget just how important one human being can be." (link); Quartz also looked at the key market of China where Adidas is catching-up to Nike, at the end of 2015 Nike had a 14.3% market share with Adidas at 13.8%, a gap that has narrowed from 11.2% to 8.5% in 2011, more (link)
presented by Anthony Travel
New Jersey Governor Christie signs bill that will provide $25m in tax credits for athletic facility upgrades at Rutgers, AD Hobbs, "This is exactly the boost that we needed to get this rolling. It shows that the state is committed to our success. We have to say a tremendous thank you to Sen. Lesniak, who was the driving force behind the bill. But obviously the Governor has a lot of things that he can look at and his support of this shows that he meant what he said when he said he wants us to be successful in the Big Ten. Now, it's up to us to get this over the finish line." Adds the move by Christie should ensure the Scarlet Knights fan base that work is going to get done this time around, more - link
Long Beach State gets a $1m commitment from supporter Bohl to go toward the renovations of Blair Field, Bohl has given in the past to MBB as she established an endowed scholarship back in 2008 to the tune of $200k, but is also a big Baseball fan, "When you look at the stands at Blair Field, you see dads, moms, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, neighbors, kids running around all over. Baseball is family, baseball is fun." (link); In other fundraising news, Georgia has secured $12.5m toward a $15.1m goal for private gifts to support the new Indoor FB Practice facility, AD McGarity calls it a "fantastic start" (link)
Missouri State AD Moats fully focused on mending a $1.1m budget shortfall due to the attrition in MBB season tickets, Prez Smart, "Frankly, it has grown to the point where we can’t continue to fill it in at the end of the year with reserve money. We have to get it down." Over the last five years the season ticket base is down 33% with attendance having dropped by 38%, plus fundraising around the program has decreased by $500k, Moats not interested in excuses, "People want to win...We have to win." - link
Minnesota Men's Hockey HC Lucia expects to remain on the bench for the Gophers despite a contract that expires after the 2016-17 season, believes there's still a contingent of supporters who want an alum in charge, which he is not, won back-to-back National Championships in 2002 & 2003, wonders how the AD hire will impact his future, "Is Beth going to get the job, or are they going to go in a different direction and then get the AD in place and then move forward with the department?" - link
West Virginia Prez Gee believes the MBB series between his Mountaineers & in-state rival Marshall should continue, as long as the games are played in Morgantown, "So it is not whether or not we should play, but where the venue should be." The pair has played annually in Charleston since 1992, but there's no contract to continue the match-up beyond this season, new Marshall Prez Gilbert on keeping the tips in the capital city, "I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s great for both schools." - link
UC San Diego will again explore a move from DII to DI with the possibility of asking its student population later this year to take on a new fee to financially support the transition, back in 2011 students voted down a proposal to kick-in $495 per year to drive $5m in needed monies to make the jump, Associated Students Prez Suvonnasupa, "From what I’ve heard, students are very excited about this and want an opportunity to vote on it. We’re here to listen." UCSD had an enrollment of over 31k in 2014 & the Big West would seem to be the right league fit, though an invitation would obviously be needed - link
Technology Today presented by Paciolan, Now Spectra, Ticketing & Fan Engagement
Another WSJ piece on ESPN boss Skipper, this one with his thoughts around developing technology in the TV space, believes digital-only offerings via Sling, Sony & possibly Apple can be "a significant mover in helping us navigate the next few years," deal with Sling allows ESPN to cancel the deal if it starts to cannibalize cable subscribers, pretty evident in the article something is brewing between ESPN & Apple, "It's too soon to predict" if the changing TV landscape will dictate future rights deals, says his company has no contingency plans on payments to rights holders if cord-cutting gets more aggressive - link
 presented by Paciolan
No day can go by without Big 12 expansion talk & this time it's notable Austin American-Statesman scribe Bohls, says smart money is on the addition of schools in the next five years even though Baylor AD McCaw told him last weekend, "We’re good with the way things are. We’re happy with 10." Another league AD, this one unnamed, said opinion within the conference on the issue is "split at best," Bohls thinks there's a "groundswell" for Houston & doesn't rule-out the possibility of FB-only membership invitations, believes hoops powers, such as Kansas, may vote for expansion simply on the grounds of stability - link
More on the AD search at Illinois with some around the situation pointing to Tennis Australia CEO & former Illini Men's Tennis HC Tiley as a key player, coincidence that the Australian Open will close on the 31st of this month & UI Prez Killeen now saying the AD process could stretch into the first few weeks of February, other names mentioned are Colorado's George, Eastern Illinois AD Michael, Wash U. (DIII) AD Whitman & Northwestern boss Phillips (link); Tiley was also in the news yesterday for his comments on the reports of match fixing at the highest levels of the sport (link)
Oklahoma AD & NCAA MBB Committee head Castiglione pleased with progress thus far with rule changes meant to spice up offense & decrease physical play, "The statistical trends show progress has been made...We are more than half way through the regular season and we are encouraged with where we are; now we need to stay the course through the rest of the season, including the tournament." As has previously been shared here a number of key scoring statistics have improved, more Castiglione, "So while we are encouraged, we can’t be satisfied." Also points to significant parity around the sport that will make the Committee's job a challenge - link
Former Penn AD Bilsky talks the current setup for the historical 'Big 5' alignment in Philly as La Salle-Temple & Saint Joseph's-Penn will reunite in a double header tonight at The Palestra, Bilsky says the games need to be played before the conference seasons begin to regain some of its sizzle, "The Big 5 is kind of flat...There's no continuity or any sense there's a real entity," believes a week-long celebration of the brand could be a way to regain some momentum, likes that three of the five 'Big 5' ADs are relatively new & innovative, more - link
You may have already seen/read these, but sobering comments from former Indiana student-athlete & Pittsburgh Steelers stand-out Randle El, "If I could go back, I wouldn’t (play football). I would play baseball. I got drafted by the Cubs in the 14th round, but I didn’t play baseball because of my parents. They made me go to school. Don’t get me wrong, I love the game of football. But, right now, I could still be playing baseball." Says there are instances when his wife tells him the same thing multiple times & he still doesn't remember, doesn't think there's any helmet solution to the head injury problem, wouldn't be surprise if FB isn't around in 20 to 25 years, more - link
More news & notes: St. Bonaventure Prez Carney will exit at the end of July after 12 years of leading the university (link); The Citadel AD Senter moves quickly, promotes FB OC Thompson to HC (link); Another hit for Daily Fantasy Sports as the Texas Attorney General's Paxton deems the activity an act of illegal gambling under state law (link); ESPN college FB lead personality Herbstreit, "Ed O'Bannon ruined that for all of us," "that" being the now-defunct EA Sports College Football video game & "us" being FB student-athletes around the nation (link)
1.Question Sponsored by Turnkey Search
Central Arkansas AD Brad Teague arrived in Conway in the first year of the Bears reclassification from DII to DI back in 2007. For our 1.Q today, Brad reviews the most difficult aspects of that process, along with what his head coaches sold to prospective student-athletes in the midst of a four-year hiatus from post-season play. "It's a long process & during those four years I didn't like it. I was frustrated with it. But, now looking back it's something that needs to be done for any institution reclassifying." Listen to all of Teague's response by clicking the link. - link (length - 4:13)
 sponsored by Turnkey Search
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