SBJ College: Putting A Bow On CFP Weekend

I was not among those at the airport this morning who clearly had not slept, but I can tell you that the shuttle straight from the French Quarter to MSY was working overtime.

Here's what's cooking on campus.

HOT TOPICS IN NEW ORLEANS

• Here are the five most frequent questions I heard during CFP Championship weekend. None of them involve Abita or jambalaya, but they do offer a snapshot of the topics my best sources were talking about:
  
  
• What is the NCAA’s backup plan if it is unable to obtain injunctions that would stop states from enacting name, image and likeness laws? 
  
  • The short answer is that no one knows. The NCAA certainly acts like injunctions are a viable strategy, but what California judge would put the brakes on an NIL law that passed unanimously?
    
    
• Why is the SEC going all-in with ESPN?
  
  • Money and scheduling flexibility, which will enable ESPN to move the best games into the best windows without the restrictions CBS has.
    
    
• What’s going on with Learfield? Typically followed by: What’s Ben Sutton up to?
  
  • The hiring of Cole Gahagan from Fanatics certainly lifted some eyebrows. Gahagan’s brief introductory speech at Learfield IMG College’s 1,200-person retreat last week left a strong impression. As for Sutton, every conversation I’ve had with him focuses on ways to improve the fan experience, so we’ll see where that leads.
    
    
• Aren’t people tired of the CFP Championship being a game between two teams from the Southeast?
  
  • They’re more tired of college games lasting close to four hours (3:56) like last night’s championship.
    
    
• Who is the most influential person in college athletics now that Jim Delany has retired?
  
  • The consensus: SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

NCAA GOES HIGH & TIGHT WITH NEW CATEGORY

• When Great Clips began evaluating sports sponsorships, the company had the male 20-40 demo in mind. That’s the sweet spot for NCAA’s newest corporate partner, and a reason why Great Clips is so bullish on expanding its sports portfolio beyond current partnerships with the NHL, X Games and Monster Jam.
  
  
• Great Clips today rolled out its multiyear deal with the NCAA, becoming the governing body's official hair salon, a category the NCAA has never had before. Great Clips VP/Marketing & Communications Lisa Hake said the new sponsor will activate at many championships, but the team is focused on creative for March Madness right now.
  
  
• The brand worked with its marketing agency, Minnesota-based Intemark, to get the deal done. A Minneapolis-based ad agency, Hunt Adkins, is preparing the creative for March Madness. The NCAA is represented by its rightsholders, CBS and Turner Sports. “We know that our customers are avid sports fans, especially when it comes to college athletics and it really extends our brand presence throughout the entire country,” Hake said.

CHASE FIELD BECOMES DUAL THREAT

• We've seen NCAA wrestling matches at football stadiums before, usually at Big Ten venues. But on Saturday, Chase Field in Phoenix became the first MLB ballpark to host a college wrestling match. How did this unique opportunity come about? Arizona State Manager of Athletic Operations & Facilities Kirt Klingerman told SBJ's Austin Karp that the school's Desert Financial Arena on the Tempe campus was double booked with a women's gymnastics match. The athletic department over the summer began looking for an alternative venue, but after going down the path with several local Indian reservation venues, some legal hurdles blocked that option.
  
  
• In mid-December, without a venue for the match against Campbell, Iowa State and Harvard, ASU essentially cold called the D-backs to see if Chase Field could work. The ballclub, which had just taken booking operations in-house at the retractable-roof venue, jumped at the idea, and the Duals On The Diamond was born. There was one logistical element that had to be overcome for the wrestlers -- heat. The venue in the Arizona desert only has air conditioning. But ASU and the venue were able to bring in some portable heating units for the student-athletes.
  
  
• Klingerman said both sides were happy with the event, which ASU won. The roof was even open for fans for a short period. ASU kept revenues from ticket sales (minus the school's Ticketmaster fees), while the D-backs kept revenue from concessions. Klingerman praised the D-backs staff for the all help, including some help with social media. Among the notable attendees at the ballpark for the event was former MLBer Luis Gonzalez -- now D-backs Senior Advisor to the President & CEO. Klingerman also noted that the Campbell coach was adamant after the match that his school be invited back if they have a repeat of the ballpark event. 

Arizona State wrestlers had some fun wrestling at the ballpark

SPEED READS

• Scoop from CNBC's Lauren Hirsch: NCAA execs in November met with the Justice Department’s antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, to discuss its plan to change rules that prevent student-athletes from profiting on their names, image and likeness. One of Hirsch's sources said that Delrahim "warned NCAA representatives that if it announces new policies in April the DOJ views as anti-competitive, the department is willing to take appropriate action."
  
  
• USC AD Mike Bohn, just two months into the job, today dismissed CFO & COO Steve Lopes, who had been with the department 35 years. The L.A. Times’ Ryan Kartje writes the firing “sends a clear message of change at the start of a new era for Trojan athletics.” Lopes was let go this afternoon along with two other high-ranking officials in the department -- Senior Associate AD Ron Orr and Associate AD Scott Jacobson. No immediate reasons were given, but Bohn was brought in to make changes and they are under way.
  
  
• AstroTurf has been busy with some college baseball projects this winter -- particularly for some cold-weather schools. The company installed the turf for UConn's new venue, Elliot Ballpark, and also recently put down the new field for Charles L. Cost Field on Pitt's campus. Looking across the sport, it's going to be a busy year for college baseball venue construction in 2020, according to SBJ's David Broughton, whose data shows $206 million will be spent on such venues opening this year. That figure is an all-time high for college baseball.

AstroTurf did work for UConn (l) and Pitt during the college baseball offseason

• Before pirating Mike Leach away from Washington State, Mississippi State AD John Cohen was in talks with Bulldog alum Joe Judge for the job. But Cohen sounds at peace with Judge taking the top spot with the Giants and told NBC Sports’ Peter King that he knew what he was up against from a negotiating standpoint. “I’m not sure there ever has been a situation like this in college football -- Starkville and the SEC versus a historic franchise in the biggest city in the country.”
  
  
• Big-name MLBers are lending their cache to college programs in retirement. Both Tim Hudson (Auburn) and Robin Ventura (Oklahoma State) today joined their alma maters as "volunteer assistants," a nice way for the Tigers and Cowboys to bolster their teams without violating the NCAA's limit on more than two full-time assistant coaches.

• News from the NCAA this afternoon: Dick Vitale will receive this year’s Gerald R. Ford Award in recognition of his advocacy for college sports. Vitale, who turned 80 over the summer, reached an extension with ESPN last year that will keep him with the network through the 2021-22 hoops season. 
  
  
• The CFP and its partner, Disney Ad Sales, ran a full-page ad today in the New Orleans Advocate thanking its official partners and event sponsors. Disney sells the deals for the CFP.

Editor's note: The deadline for nominations for the 13^th annual Sports Business Awards is Friday, Jan. 17. Nominations are being accepted in 17 categories. Please be specific possible in your nomination -- submissions that don’t answer the actual question or provide detailed specifics will not be closely considered. Submit your nomination today. For more information on Sports Business Awards nominations, please contact Awards Coordinator Tracey Allsbrook at tallsbrook@sportsbusinessjournal.com or call 704-973-1566.

Enjoying this newsletter? We've got more! Check out SBJ Media with John Ourand on Mondays and Wednesdays for insights into all the latest news around the world of sports media. Also check out SBJ Football from Ben Fischer on Friday afternoons.

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