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Leagues and Governing Bodies

BOXING OUT IN K.C. AS WOMEN'S LEAGUES TRY TO RECRUIT TALENT

          Both the ABL and WNBA were at the women's Final Four
     recruiting, and in Phoenix, Jeff Metcalfe wrote this year's
     college All-Americans "truly have a choice to make" between
     the two leagues.  WNBA President Val Ackerman: "My sense is
     that we're being perceived differently than this time last
     year for a lot of reasons."  Both the WNBA and ABL hosted a
     party for players, and players for "each league attended
     both."  Metcalfe: "Socialites gave the party edge to the
     WNBA" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/29). ABL player Jennifer Rizzotti:
     "For the seniors, it's like being recruited by colleges all
     over again.  The two leagues are trying so hard to promote
     themselves."  At an ABL forum for players and coaches, Iowa
     coach Angie Lee said, "What can we do to help our players
     understand (what the ABL) is about?  I don't think they know
     about you, I don't think you are giving them the chance." 
     The ABL said it spent $100,000 to promote itself this week,
     while the WNBA "spent less" (Jason Quick, OREGONIAN, 3/27).
          CHAMIQUE STAYS? Univ. of TN star Chamique Holdsclaw said
     she intends to stay for her senior season: "It's firm and
     final" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/30).  But in K.C., Jeffrey Flanagan
     writes that some observers "believe it would be a sign of
     progress for the game -- maybe even somehow legitimizing it 
     -- if Holdsclaw left school early."  One agent said she could
     get an $11M endorsement deal turning pro (K.C. STAR, 3/30). 
          OTHER BUCKS: In K.C., Steve Rock reported that during
     the '95-96 academic year, records show that NCAA Div. I
     women's basketball teams nationwide lost a collective total
     of more than $100M.  Women's Sports Foundation Exec Dir Donna
     Lopiano said women's college basketball "is about new product
     development.  You have to develop demand."  She calls it
     "marketing suicide" for women's teams to target men's
     basketball fans, adding, "It's not the same market."  The
     Univ. of WI, which has led the Big Ten in attendance for
     three consecutive years, has aimed most of its marketing
     around kids.  The university spent about $33,000 last year
     promoting its women's program (K.C. STAR, 3/29).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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