SBJ College: Diamond Studs

My favorite name for a Paul Finebaum sitcom is “Better Call Pawl.” Close second: “Sitcom Ain’t Played Nobody.”

Here's what's cooking on campus.

SPENDING ON COLLEGE BALLPARKS TAKES OFF

• The building boom in college baseball and softball will reach new heights in 2020. Overall ballpark spending will total more than $233 million this year, headlined by Florida’s new 10,000-seat baseball venue in Gainesville, a $65 million jewel that should be finished by this summer and be ready for action in 2021. The $233 million takes into account only the projects that will be completed this year, according to SBJ’s research chief David Broughton, who compiled the data.
  
  
• In addition to the Gators’ new facility, Oklahoma State will open the $60 million O’Brate Stadium. The finished product will be unveiled next month in time for the Cowboys’ Big 12 opener. The new ballpark will boast 3,500 permanent seats with the ability to expand to 8,000, 11 suites and 400 premium seats. UConn will wrap up the construction of $40 million Elliot Ballpark this year. The new 1,500-seat facility, which sits across the street from the Huskies’ previous home at Christian Field, is expected to be game-ready by the end of March.
  
  
• There’s also a significant revenue component to these new ballparks, most of which now feature premium spaces. Florida AD Scott Stricklin said ticket revenue is expected to triple once the Gators are in the new ballpark next season. Four different types of premium seating and indoor-outdoor access will boost revenue capabilities as well for one of college baseball’s most dominant programs.
  
  
• Spending projections for 2021 are up to $158 million, although that figure is not expected to top spending this year.
  
  

MLB STEPS UP TO THE PLATE WITH COLLEGE BASEBALL

• MLB’s involvement in college baseball will be more evident than ever in 2020. That involvement starts with MLB backing two season-opening tournaments, followed by the first-ever MLB Draft in Omaha in June. The second annual MLB4 event this weekend will be in Scottsdale at the Rockies/D-backs facility, highlighted by Michigan playing Vanderbilt tomorrow night. MLB Exec VP/Baseball & Softball Development Tony Reagins told SBJ’s Austin Karp that the rematch of the College World Series final “fell in our laps.” Cal Poly and UConn will open the doubleheader, with a round-robin format for the weekend. Reagins: “Being able to get a higher profile tournament during Spring Training is something we want to grow.”
  
  
• Should fans expect a similar tournament around Grapefruit League action? “Not necessarily,” said Reagins. “We have strong interest from a number of college teams that want to get involved in this and could easily grow this. … As of now, we like the level of team that we have in the (MLB4) tournament. We’ll see that type of talent grow. We have 2021 and 2022 already booked with teams committed.” Those schools have not been announced for the coming years. 
  
  
• While the MLB4 event in Arizona is newer, MLB for the past seven years has headed to New Orleans to hold the Andre Dawson Classic (formerly the Urban Invitational) as a way to grow exposure for HBCUs and African-American players. “We try to create programs that funnel into Division 1 baseball to improve the African-American participation at the college level, because 70% of the players getting drafted year over year are from college. So if the African-American player is not playing at the college level, it’s a challenge for them to play at the professional level.”

HERCULEAN EFFORT FOR VAN WAGNER

• Hercules Tires had never waded into sports marketing until it signed on to become title sponsor of six conference basketball tournaments, starting next month. Van Wagner’s college division, run by Mike Palisi, sold the 10-year deal to Ohio-based Hercules, marking the first time he could remember a brand buying so many tournaments.
  
  
• It also provided Van Wagner further evidence that its strategy of buying up mid-major conference rights is resonating with brands looking for a path into college sports. Ellen Harrington, Van Wagner’s Big South Conference GM, led the sales effort along with Frank Cuervo, GM for National Sales, and Mark Donley, Senior VP in Van Wagner’s college division.

DATA CONTINUES TO BE ALL THE RAGE ON CAMPUSES

• At any forum on college athletics these days, data is the topic that keeps on giving. That was certainly the case earlier this week at PACnet, which is Paciolan’s annual conference in California. Here are some of the trending topics people were talking about:
  
  
  • Data is still somewhat under-utilized in college, although that’s changing. Paciolan CTO Keith White offered insights into how athletic departments can better understand and utilize the data they’ve been collecting.
    
    
  • Contactless ticketing, which gained momentum in 2019 at places like Pitt, LSU and Stanford, looks like a trend that’s going to stick around. It seemed to work well for student ticketing at football games and some schools adopted it for basketball as well. All students need is their phone -- which they never leave at home.
    
    
  • The focus on data’s effectiveness in ticketing, fundraising and marketing certainly fits Learfield IMG College’s company-wide initiative to become better at collecting and sharing data with its clients. It also helps the company in its overall effort to become more of a data-driven business. Learfield IMG College is Paciolan’s parent company.

Terry Tumey (Fresno State), Brian Kelly (Georgia State), Stephanie Curran (Spokane Public Facilities) and Paciolan's Kim Damron during a Leadership session

SPEED READS 

• Expect Georgia AD Greg McGarity to sit down with school President Jere Morehead in around 4-5 weeks to talk about the future, based on a report from the Athens Banner-Herald. The 65-year-old McGarity is in his 10th year at the helm of UGA athletics and said he still “enjoys working.” Football is humming along for UGA under coach Kirby Smart, and while Tom Crean hasn't had the same level of success with the men’s hoops team, SBJ research shows that Stegeman Coliseum this season is on pace for its best average attendance since 2002-03.
  
  
• Details around New Mexico's 10-year deal with Outfront Media Sports -- which broke in this newsletter in August -- are starting to surface. The Albuquerque Journal reports the school will "keep 85% of whatever profits Outfront can make by selling the Lobo brand." Deputy AD Dave Williams said that midway through the fiscal year, it looks like UNM’s share will be about $2.75 million. Outfront, which won a competitive bid process against Fox Sports, Learfield IMG College, JMI Sports and Van Wagner, has also agreed to pay the athletic department an additional $750,000 this year.
  
  
• Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs will be the site for the 30th NHL outdoor game on Saturday, with the Kings playing the Avalanche. Then on Monday night, Air Force will follow up with an outdoor game against Colorado College. AFA AD Nathan Pine told the Colorado Springs Gazette that he’s pleased with not only the exposure that the NHL game will bring, but also with how sales for Monday's game are shaping up. The hockey program is averaging 1,832 fans per game at USAFA Cadet Ice Arena this season to date, and Pine said ticket sales for the outdoor game are already closer to 7,000.

Falcon Stadium will host an NHL game on Saturday then a college matchup on Monday night

THROWBACK THURSDAY

• It was this week in 2014 that Learfield finalized its acquisition of Nelligan Sports for roughly $80 million. The deal provided Learfield with a major boost of school multimedia rights, most notably Louisville, Marquette, Princeton, Providence and Colorado State -- 41 schools in all. The acquisition was one of the first major moves by Learfield since it had sold a majority stake to Providence Equity Partners.

------- Register now for the CAA World Congress of Sports -- March 25-26 -------

• Hear from dynamic thought leaders, stakeholders, and dealmakers such as:
  
  
  • Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner
  • Zion Armstrong, Adidas North America President
  • Don Garber, MLS Commissioner
  • Cynthia Marshall, Mavericks CEO
  • Anthony Noto, SoFi CEO
  • Molly Solomon, NBC Olympics Productions Executive Producer & President
    
    
• Network with more than 700 of your peers on the Grand Lawn of the Monarch Beach Resort following day one. Be sure to join fellow attendees at the welcome reception on the evening of March 24. To register, go to www.WorldCongressofSports.com.

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).