Sponsoring in Sports

Sponsors Score Big With Colleges
Anthony Walick

Quarterback Sean Glennon was faced with a tough choice. He narrowed down his college choices to two, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech football coach, told Sean that he would be guaranteed playing time as a freshman. That ended up being the deciding factor and the choice was made. Sean was going to become a Hokie.
Entering his senior year at Virginia Tech, Glennon circled two games on the calendar, the ACC championship game and the game at Georgia Tech.
It happened to be the first night in November when the Hokies squared off against the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. It was one hour before game-time when Virginia Tech quarterback, Sean Glennon, entered the visiting locker room. Sean went into his normal routine including listening to music and putting on his equipment. Something was different this time. His white, trimmed in maroon, away jersey was not to be seen.
The football equipment manager had mistakenly lost the quarterback's football jerseys. Glennon and second-string quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, both had empty lockers. When the football coach of Georgia Tech, Chan Gailey, heard of this news, he let Glennon use their old jerseys from a couple years ago.
Sean received the old Georgia Tech number seven jersey. It was a tattered, white jersey with his number on it. He used a black Sharpie marker to write in his last name on it. "It was funny," Glennon said. "That was the jersey of a school I almost went to."
Sean could not go out and play right away. The old Georgia Tech jersey he was wearing had a small logo on the right shoulder. It was the logo of Russell Athletic, a multi-million dollar corporation. Since Virginia Tech is sponsored by Nike, they had to somehow figure out a way to get the Nike check on there and get the Russell one off of it. The staff took a marker and scribbled out the Russell emblem and put a little Nike swoosh where it would have been on their own jerseys.
Sponsoring in sports has exploded over the last decade. They exist everywhere from NASCAR to golf. Every big star has his or her own label. Just like Tiger Woods is sponsored by Nike, Virginia Tech is also sponsored by Nike. During that Virginia Tech versus Georgia Tech football game, the Hokie players had to make sure that the Russell symbols were nowhere to be found. This just shows what a major role sponsors play in the world of sports.
College athletics are much different than professional. The main viewpoint of a pro jersey could be anything including the name of the team or any sponsor that wishes to pay money. The main viewpoint of a college jersey must be the name of the school or the mascot that represents the school. In Virginia Tech's case, their jerseys say Virginia Tech right on them. Sponsors can buy a little square inch of material anywhere on the jersey to put their logo.
That little piece of jersey may seem like nothing but to a company, it is a much bigger deal. The logo can be a one inch square on a jersey or it can be plastered on an athlete from head to toe.
Imagine a label that sponsors an entire team, like Under Armor and the University of Maryland football. The founder of Under Armor, Kevin Plank, is a Maryland graduate. Plank played football at Maryland when he developed the idea for Under Armor. He told reporters that, " I got tired of having to change out of the sweat-soaked T-shirts I wore under my jersey, so I developed a type of moisture-wicking fabric for athletic performance." Now Under Armor is the sole sponsor for the University of Maryland. Under Armor made a whopping $430.7 million in 2006. Coincidently, the first school to use under armor as a part of their uniforms was Georgia Tech.
Sponsorships have exploded onto the sports scene over the last decade. It seems like sport franchises keep coming up with new ways to make money through sponsors. In 2007, a national convenient store called 7-11, paid millions of dollars to get their name out there. They paid the Chicago White Sox, a Major League Baseball franchise, to start all their home games at precisely 7:11 p.m. Yes, it sounds crazy to the people but this could end up benefiting 7-11 more then ever expected.
Tiger Woods is a perfect example of what sponsoring does in sports. Every single golf tournament that Woods participates in, he is covered in everything Nike. His hat, shirt, shoes, and clubs all belong to the label. Getting the world's #1 golfer is not cheap though. Nike signed Tiger Woods to a 5-year, $105 million contract extension. Woods is also endorsed by American Express, Buick, and Titleist. That is only one man.
The clearest way to get a name of a business to be recognized in sports is to buy the naming rights of a stadium or arena. Heinz field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the stadium for the city's favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
H. J. Heinz Company bought the naming rights of the stadium for $57 million, maybe because there are 57 varieties claimed on the ketchup bottles. Heinz Field or "The Mustard Palace" is covered in everything Heinz has to offer. There are giant ketchup bottles surrounding the scoreboards, all the way down to little Heinz ketchup packets that accompany every hotdog.
Since the Steelers have sold out every home game this year, the $57 million that Heinz spent to name the facility is finally paying off. The more people that come to watch the games, the more
Dan Gilbert is the founder of Quicken Loans Inc. and is majority owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. He bought the franchise in March 2005 and quickly made some changes. The home arena, then named Gund Arena after prior owner Gordon Gund, was one of the nicer arenas in basketball. Gilbert soon changed the name to Quicken Loans Arena, or simply "The Q". It does not just host basketball games. It also has held wrestling events, music concerts, figure skating, ice hockey, and football. Since the acquisition of the arena's name, Gilbert has increased his earnings and has been named to the Forbes 400 list.
That list is well-known for naming the top 400 wealthiest people.
University of Oregon track athlete Bill Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman stirred up a storm in 1965. They didn't know it yet, but they started what would come to be the greatest sponsoring and manufacturer of everything sports in the world. What started out as selling track shoes out of the back of a van turned into Nike Inc.
Nike was named after the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike. It is easily the biggest supplier of athletic apparel, shoes, and athletic equipment. Nike is apparent in basically every sport worldwide. It litters every arena and sporting complex around the globe. Nike sponsors professional teams as well as college teams. They are the lead sponsor for The University of North Carolina and The Ohio State University.
Nike seems to have a lock on every star player in nearly every sport. They include NBA stars, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. They have NFL players such as LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Urlacher. Famous tennis players, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams are sponsored by Nike also. One of the first endorsers was legendary track runner, Steve Prefontaine. Today, the Steve Prefontaine Building is named in his honor at Nike's corporate headquarters.
"I love the fact that I am one of Nike's main sponsors," says NBA star LeBron James, "I feel like they wanted me to represent their label and I feel like that is something special." LeBron should feel special since Nike offered him a $100 million deal before he even played his first NBA game. Sounds like Nike took a huge risk, huge reward situation but cashed in big for it. Nike usually is not that risky but when you get the opportunity to sign a future superstar, which is something that you cannot pass up.
Nike can be seen on shoes, shorts, shirts, hats, and athletic gear. They control most of college and professional sports. Nike only has about 30,200 employees but in 2007 alone, Nike pulled in a whopping $16.4 billion. Over the past couple of weeks, there have been over 30 college football bowl games. That means there were about 60 college teams. Out of those 60 teams, approximately 51 of them are sponsored by Nike.
University of Georgia 's running back Knowshon Moreno commented, "When you strap up and put on that Nike uniform, you know that you're about to go into battle. This jersey signifies perfection and you better go out there and achieve it."
With the college football season wrapping up in early January, sponsors must look back and see if the money they put out was worth it. Allstate Insurance paid millions of dollars to have their name correspond to the two biggest bowl games of the year, the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Allstate BCS Championship Bowl. Every single T-shirt or football jersey sold between those four teams will have the word Allstate on them. The four teams include Ohio State, Louisiana State, Georgia, and Hawaii.


LSU Championship t-shirt

This T-shirt sold thousands in stands across the country. Including the Allstate and Nike logos, this shirt is a sponsors' dream. Allstate spokesman, Rich Halberg explains, "Having our name associated with these two events pays dividends to our company. This allows us to get our name out there and have people get familiar with us."
A world without sponsors may result in a world without sports. Sponsors help design and market the gear that teams wear. Having equipment made by a reputable company ensures that the gear is well-made and can endure the test of time and sweat.
Villanova University basketball has been sponsored by Nike since 1985. They have noticed an increase in sales ever sine Nike signed them. Equipment manager Lionel Brodie states, "You cannot go outside without seeing Villanova stuff. Ever since there has been Nike apparel, our students go out and buy it. It livens up school spirit and we are starting to see more and more people attend games. I guess people associate Nike with having quality clothing. If that is true, then we are grateful to have Nike supporting us."
The sporting events themselves are much more than just the game. There are contests and give-aways almost every dead ball. Some teams give out free t-shirts, hats, calendars, or towels. Sponsors love doing these things because people can take something simple like a t-shirt, and notice the sponsor right away. It is a great tool to get the name of the business out there for the whole arena to see. The complex itself is covered in signs and sounds of sponsored-paid ads.
The focus of the event is not focused upon these things; the main point is obviously the players. The whole crowd is centered on the action. The jerseys, pants, and shoes are the main thing that sponsors love to target. On the jersey itself, there one square inch on the shoulder that bears the emblem of the sponsor. This might not seem much but when the game is televised, re-played, or shown on the JumboTRONs, the logo can be clearly seen. Since sports nowadays are centered on prime-time players and their plays, they seem to be played over and over. The more the emblem is shown, the better.

Villanova Basketball Shorts
This plays perfect to the game between Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Since the game was focused around the Orange Bowl bound Virginia Tech defense. People from across the country tuned in to watch this late Thursday night game. Sean Glennon was plastered on every television in the area. Nike must be embedded in that uniform or they could lose their sponsor.
Like it or not but sponsors play a huge role in sports. Whether it is apparel, signs, or just a commercial playing at halftime, sponsors basically control sporting events. People think that on Sunday afternoons, it is all about professional football. Well, those people should be corrected, because in the real world, it is all about sponsors.

Nike Denver Nuggets Jersey. Nike Villanova Basketball Shorts. Allstate BCS Ohio State t-shirt.