COLLEGIATE SPORTS SEES A HOST OF OPPORTUNITIES WITH MERGER

     Host Communications, Inc., based in Lexington, KY, will
merge with Ft. Myers, FL-based AdCraft Sports Marketing, it was
announced yesterday.  HCI's clients include the NCAA, the Men's
and Women's basketball Final Fours, the Bowl Alliance and the
College World Series, as well as a number of major universities
including Kentucky, Florida State, Texas and Tennessee.  Among
the clients AdCraft represents are the National Assoc. of
Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the American Football Coaches
Assoc., the National Assoc. of Basketball Coaches, the Univ. of
Miami, and the PGA of America.  AdCraft will continue to be run
by President Roy Hamlin, Jr., and will operate as a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Host Communications.  According to W. James Host,
the merger "puts a greater concentration of college athletics
under one marketing umbrella" and will allow Host to move into
new domains such as women's volleyball and basketball as well as
baseball (THE DAILY).