SBJ College: A Sky Full Of Stars

My son didn’t know his apartment at school -- like many in Boone -- came without air conditioning. You don’t really need AC in the North Carolina mountains, except for August.

Here’s what is cooking on campus:

BIG SKY SHOWS DIVERSITY IN ATHLETIC DIRECTOR RANKS

• Just 18 months ago, women made up a modest 12.1% of the existing ADs hired at the D-I level. With the latest hire this week -- Terry Gawlik at Idaho -- women now represent 18.1% of the D-I ADs hired since the start of 2018, according to research from SBJ's David Broughton. Leading the way is the Big Sky, which boasts five female ADs, the most of any D-I conference.
  
  
• The Big Sky has demonstrated it is a successful proving ground. Three of the five current female ADs in the conference began as interim ADs before getting the top job at the same school -- Pauline Thiros (Idaho State), Lynn Hickey (Eastern Washington) and Debbie Corum (Southern Utah). A fourth, Portland State AD Val Cleary, was interim AD at the school, left for Willamette Univ. and then returned as Vikings’ AD.
  
  
• All five Big Sky female ADs have been hired since 2016 and two of them have been hired this year. It’s a recent trend that Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill credits to the university presidents conducting the AD searches. “They all bring an open mind, looking at people with different backgrounds,” Wistrcill said. “That's how you end up with a diverse pool. Then the cream rises to the top through the interview process.”
  
  

LOOK FOR MORE REV-SHARE MULTIMEDIA RIGHTS DEALS

• I wrote about New Mexico’s new 10-year multimedia rights deal with Outfront Media Sports on Tuesday night and the story generated a flurry of emails because of the financial model. The Lobos will keep 85% of annual profits, while Outfront will keep 15%. There is no revenue guarantee for UNM, which is different than the typical deal.
  
  
• Most ADs historically have taken the guaranteed money because it’s safer and it’s easier to budget. A true revenue-share is considered riskier, but it gives both sides -- the school and the rightsholder -- added incentive to get deals done. Why? Because they both stand to profit with every sponsorship sold.
  
  
• While the Lobos’ pure profit-share agreement is unique, it’s not unprecedented. Texas, USC and UConn are among a handful of schools that have all or mostly revenue-share deals. UNM Deputy AD/External Affairs David Williams believes the revenue-share model is the future of multimedia rights. “You’re going to see this become a growing trend,” he said. I think he's right. We're going to see more deals structured this way involving some very big brands.
  
  
• UConn's case is interesting because of the terms. In the first three years of its deal struck last year, UConn will take 100% of the revenue made by Learfield IMG College. The percentage then decreases to 95%, and eventually it becomes an 80-20 split for the majority of the 15-year deal. UConn does have some limited guarantees if sales go poorly. The most recent contract with Learfield IMG College was completed prior to the Huskies’ decision to shift to the Big East.
  
  

ESPN SHOWS OFF NEW ACC NETWORK DIGS

• ACC Network today unveiled its new 2,800-square-foot studio via video (a live stream did not go as planned), and the space has all the bells and whistles expected of an ESPN studio. Being the newest studio on the Bristol campus has its perks, like two fully robotic cameras in hideaway boxes that blend into the set design when not in use -- something that no other ESPN studio currently has.
  
  
• ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro spoke on the video, emphasizing the breadth of content the new channel will have, particularly around women's sports. Pitaro also commended the work done by the 15 ACC schools to build out high-quality, on-campus studios.
  
  
• An ACC Net rep also told SBJ that the channel will not be using an in-studio officiating analyst this football season, but is keeping the option open for the future. The ESPN-backed SEC Network announced this week it would add a football officiating analyst for the first time. Big Ten Network has had an officiating analyst four seasons (Dean Blandino is coming up on his third season working for the conference network). While Pac-12 Networks does not have an in-studio analyst, the conference last month said that as part of a review of officiating, a new communications protocol would be instituted -- one with more public comment.

SPEED READS 

• Some breaking news out of Columbia, as the Gamecocks have signed a long-term deal with Fanatics to manage all e-commerce services. It's another Power Five win for Fanatics, which two years ago decided to make a bigger move into the college space. The company in the past year has also the become primary apparel provider for P5 schools like Florida and Oregon (its e-commerce deal with the Gators dates back to 2006).
  
  
• It’s “Reveal Week” at Texas. The Longhorns have an announcement for each day of the week related to their football pregame festivities. Here’s the rundown:
  
  
  • Monday: A new space called Smokey’s Midway, inspired by the Texas State Fair, will be added next to Bevo Blvd.
  • Tuesday: The pregame concert series, Longhorn City Limits, is adding a premium space -- the Deep Eddy Lounge, named after the Austin-based vodka.
  • Wednesday: Texas’ fan-first pricing will include price reductions on 22 items this season, up from 10 last season.
  • Thursday: Musical acts for the first three home games are announced, with Jack Ingram headlining the Aug. 31 opener.
    
    
• It was just two-and-a-half years ago that Clemson opened its state-of-the-art football operations building at a cost of $55 million, a fitting home for a Tigers’ team coming off their first national championship. I shouldn’t be shocked, given the facilities arms race, that Florida has come out with plans for an $85 million football center and, just yesterday, Georgia AD Greg McGarity said the Bulldogs’ new football building will cost $80 million. The cost of doing business keeps going up.
  
  
• How much more exposure is Conference USA football getting by moving a package of games from beIN Sports to NFL Network? According to distribution figures for August, beIN Sports has linear distribution in 14.8 million homes, while NFL Net is in 59.7 million. While that’s not the 83.5 million for a channel like ESPN or 81.0 million for FS1, it’s a huge leap in visibility on channel guides across the U.S.
  
  
• Oregon State AD Scott Barnes yesterday addressed college football attendance, and specifically the current outlook in Corvallis. While he was quick to note technology has changed the way fans consume entertainment, the Beavers were actually up 1.3% last season at Reser Stadium. But like many schools, Oregon State is a far cry from the 45,500 who filled the stands in 2010. Last year’s average of 35,209 was the school’s second lowest number in the last decade (behind only 2017).
  
  
• SBJ this week unveiled its 2019 Game Changers -- a roster of 40 women in senior leadership roles across sports business. Among those recognized in the college space are the Big Ten’s Wendy Fallen, West Coast Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez and Whitney Wagoner, the director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at Oregon.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

• This week last year, the NCAA unveiled major rules changes aimed at cleaning up college hoops. Among the changes -- allowing elite high school recruits and college players to be repped by agents who are certified by the NCAA. It's an issue that has come up this week as the NCAA outlined new requirements for agents, including a bachelor's degree -- a rule that has drawn widespread scrutiny.

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Something on the College beat catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to either me (msmith@sportsbusinessjournal.com) or Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessdaily.com) and we'll share the best of it. Also contributing to this newsletter is Thomas Leary (tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com).