IMG has entered into a joint venture with JMI Sports for the two companies to work together on campus-wide college marketing initiatives, including identifying and selling on-campus assets that extend beyond athletics. IMG and JMI are making the announcement this afternoon. JMI President Tom Stultz, who had stints with IMG College and Host Communications, will oversee the new partnership and report to a three-person board that consists of IMG College President and WME-IMG Global COO Jason Lublin, IMG College President of Multimedia Tim Pernetti and JMI CEO Erik Judson. IMG and JMI are not announcing a formal name for the joint venture, but they said its clear focus will be on providing enhanced campus-wide marketing services and solutions. JMI has previously worked on campus-wide marketing efforts at Arizona State and Kentucky, among others. IMG College brings scale with 85 college clients in its multimedia rights stable. In addition to teaming up on campus-wide deals, IMG and JMI also reserve the right to partner on the pursuit new multimedia rights deals. Lublin said the tremendous content opportunities on college campuses helped drive the joint venture. "This allows us to expand our suite of services to deliver additional value and innovative experiences for our partners. ... Our plan to expand campus sponsorships will deliver additional revenue to universities." Earlier this fall, WME-IMG produced a nine-city tour by country artist Brad Paisley, who played before and after college football games. Lublin said he would like to create more programming for campuses, such as concerts, comedy tours, celebrity chef appearances and fashion shows, all of which could offer sponsorship opportunities. The structure of the joint venture with JMI is similar to IMG College's JV with Learfield Sports in ticketing. In that deal, IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions President Rob Sine oversees the day-to-day and reports to a board of IMG College Exec VP/Business Ventures Mark Dyer and Learfield Sports COO Marc Jenkins.
