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SBJ College: SEC Net's High Five


My son, Colson, was doing victory laps after an adjustment to his college schedule. Not that he was overly excited to add Public Speaking, but he was thrilled to drop Spanish Poetry. I didn’t even know such a class existed.

Here’s what is cooking on campus:

 

SEC NETWORK HITS FIVE-YEAR MARK

  • Lost in the countdown to the ACC Network’s launch on Aug. 22, the SEC Network will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its launch tomorrow (Aug. 14). SEC Network went live that night in 2014 with nine of the top 10 cable and satellite operators carrying the channel. Cablevision was the only holdout; it picked up SEC Network a year ago. ESPN, which owns the channel and pays the conference 50% of profits, called it the most successful launch in cable history.

  • When I reached out to school officials today, each of them mentioned the dramatic shift in media that enables SEC fans to get all of the conference’s content around the world, something we take for granted now. “You just can’t put a price tag on 24/7 content on any device, anywhere,” said Michael Thompson, Ole Miss Deputy AD/External Relations & Business Development. “It’s been a gamechanger for us, and the largest impact has been on sports other than football.”

  • The exposure is meaningful, but the revenue has been transformational. SEC Network launched in close to 60 million households, providing more than $7 million in new revenue to each school that first year. “The financial resources provided by the network have improved the experience of every student-athlete through facilities, travel, sports science, and health and wellness,” said Jason Schlafer, Kentucky Chief Revenue Officer.

  • Another benefit that goes unnoticed are the "professional opportunities to students who are interested in a career in television,” said Charles Bloom, South Carolina Exec Associate AD. The schools produce most of their own content with student help, creating a production model that the ACC is following for its network.

 

NCAA CLEARS ANOTHER LEGAL HURDLE

 
  • The NCAA’s Teflon shield remains intact after the most recent legal challenge by ex-USC football player Lamar Dawson. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled yesterday that scholarship athletes do not meet the definition of an employee and dismissed the case. Dawson was seeking minimum wage and overtime compensation based on his belief that he was an employee of the NCAA and the Pac-12.

  • The relationship between a student athlete and the NCAA did not reflect an employment relationship, according to the court. Here’s why:
    • NCAA regulations providing a limitation on scholarships did not create any expectation of compensation.
    • Dawson could not demonstrate that the NCAA or the Pac-12 had the power to fire or hire him.
    • The revenue generated by college sports did not convert the relationship between student athletes and the NCAA into an employment relationship.
    • The NCAA and Pac-12 are considered regulatory bodies, not employers of student athletes under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

  • Another interesting nugget: Dawson never claimed to be an employee of USC, so the court never contemplated that possibility. “That question is left, if at all, for another day,” Chief Judge Sidney Thomas wrote.

 

  

KEVIN WARREN TALKS BIG TEN MOVE

  • Soon-to-be Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, who starts on Sept. 16, was the subject of a lengthy interview on Vikings.com, where he covered the conference’s next media contract (its Fox and ESPN deals go through 2022-23) and replacing legendary commissioner Jim Delany. Here are some highlights:

    • On media: “It’s one of the things that will be at the top of my mind just because of the magnitude of the deal and the impact of it, and what Jim did when he launched the Big Ten Network was next-generation work. I’ve already been spending time to get up to speed on it and I just always want to stay ahead of the deal.”
    • On being commissioner: “What has helped me is having two children who were student athletes. The insight that they have provided to me as a parent has been very, very valuable because I can have a good sense about what a student athlete goes through.”
    • On the change from the Vikings: “I’ve dedicated so much time and energy here. … I just feel from a spiritual standpoint that my assignment was up here and it’s time to go and do something else, and to have the opportunity to do it with the Big Ten Conference, it really is special.”

 

SPEED READS

  • StubHub has brought on three more schools -- Minnesota, Wake Forest and Washington State to give the secondary ticket marketplace more than 70 college relationships. So far, StubHub’s college football sales are up 9% over last season. As of yesterday, Michigan topped all schools in ticket sales on StubHub, followed by Georgia, Texas and Alabama. The game with the highest demand on StubHub is the Sept. 7 showdown between LSU and Texas in Austin.

  • The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a D-II league that has a history of being a first-mover on issues like a conference-wide head-to-toe Nike arrangement and an OTT deal with FloSports. Greg Moore, commissioner of the SIAC, was the subject of Joe Favorito’s most recent interview. What does the future hold for the 14-team HBCU conference? Moore: “I see the SIAC continuing to grow revenue, add member schools (we’ve added three during the past several years with one in the pipeline), and add sponsored sports that could enhance international recruitment.”

  • Colin Cowherd and Bruce Feldman discussed NFL Draft hopefuls skipping their final bowl game after Jim Harbaugh made his feelings known on the subject last week. While Cowherd argued on his Fox Sports Radio show that having stars sit out is ominous for college football, Feldman thinks coaches will just have to get used to it. Feldman: “We’re in a different reality now than when [Harbaugh] played. Coaching is a self-preservation business, but this is old school vs. new school. Ultimately, we’re going to see more of this no matter what Jim Harbaugh says about it.”

  • 4Topps Premium Seating got its start installing its mesh seats, bar stools and table units in minor and major league ballparks. Now the company is making a big push into college football stadiums. SBJ's Karn Dhingra tells the company's story in this week's issue.

  • New Memphis AD Laird Veatch appeared yesterday on ESPN Radio’s Memphis affiliate and deftly dodged an initial Power Five question like a pro. “First of all, the American is a great conference. For me to come in as a new AD and say ‘Hey, our goal is to move onto the next thing,’ probably a little early, right?”
Veatch was introduced today in Memphis with his parents, wife and children in attendance

  

  

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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).