SEPTEMBER 2008: AROUND THE STATE
UO athletics scores millions
EUGENE The University of Oregon has signed a 10-year agreement
with Oregon Sports Network and IMG Communications, the global
sports marketing powerhouse that owns thousands of sports and
entertainment events, partners with a dozen large universities,
and manages the careers of some of the richest athletes in the
world.
The deal is worth more than $67 million in guaranteed annual
payments, facility improvements and naming rights for the
university’s new baseball field. In return OSN and IMG
will get marketing rights to just about anything that walks,
throws and shoots like a Duck, promoting Oregon sports through
print, online, video and radio ads, corporate sponsorships and
product endorsements.
“We knew Oregon athletics were worth a lot more than we
were getting, so we went fishing,” says Joe Giansante,
the senior athletic director who negotiated the deal for UO.
“This deal with IMG gives anyone who might have been
living in the past a clearer understanding of how valuable the
Oregon athletic brand is.”
The agreement puts the Ducks in the same bracket as some of the
nation’s top athletic departments that have partnered
with IMG, including the Texas Longhorns and the Michigan
Wolverines.
Giansante says IMG’s willingness to work with OSN was a
big factor. Most universities sell their multimedia rights to
major networks such as ESPN or Fox Sports, but Oregon is
different because of its long-standing exclusive relationship
with OSN. “IMG was comfortable with the idea that we
wanted to maintain our relationship with OSN, and that gave
them an edge over their competitors. IMG is an incredible
company with global reach, but they also have a level of
flexibility and creativity that the other companies
didn’t bring to the table.”
Giansante says the deal will help the university’s
athletics to operate within its own budget, without UO general
funds, well into the future.
BEN JACKLET
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