The private company that manages Missouri State University’s multimedia rights signed its own deal last month.
On June 26, the MSU Board of Governors approved an 11-year contract with Jefferson City-based Learfield Sports Inc., which has run its Missouri State Sports Properties division since February 2014, when Learfield acquired Nelligan Sports Marketing. The agreement guarantees the university $6.82 million through 2026 and comes with other perks.
Learfield agreed to pay MSU $580,000 in capital subsidy payments for the purchase of a light-emitting-diode fascia ribbon board to wrap around JQH Arena from Learfield’s wholly-owned subsidiary, ANC Sports Enterprises LLC.
Starting July 1, the contract also sets a 50-50 revenue split between the partners should Learfield exceed annual revenue thresholds.
In the 2015-16 academic year, the threshold is $1.95 million, and it steps up each year to $3.6 million in 2025-26.
“It’s not uncommon at all for us to reach those hurdles,” Learfield Chief Culture and Communications Officer Roger Gardner said. “A lot of it has to do with the maturity of the contract; if one is missed, it is likely toward the end of the deal when the goals are higher.”
Learfield has a national reach, serving as sports marketing partner for around 100 colleges and several conferences. The company has similar agreements with four Missouri Valley Conference universities: Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Indiana State and Bradley. Gardner said Learfield also works with Stanford University, Texas A&M and the University of Miami, and it represents the Big 10 and Mountain West conferences.
For MSU, the company manages venue signage, event sponsorships, marketing, corporate hospitality, radio and TV game broadcasts and coaches’ shows. The new contract replaces Nelligan’s deal, which only guaranteed the school $1.68 million between 2010 and 2017.
Since Learfield came to town last year, conversations led to a desire to hire a full-time marketing director for the athletic department. Learfield will put $50,000 toward the salary of a marketing director.
And then, there’s the ribbon board.
“It’s like putting a television around the arena,” MSU Athletics Director Kyle Moats said.
The digital board is roughly 3 feet tall and will extend about 600 linear feet in a horseshoe shape around JQH.
“It was part of a discussion we had with Kyle right out of the shoot,” Gardner said. “In our experience, it’s a common improvement that a lot of arenas have made. It was a glaringly obvious move that could be made that not only has a fan engagement capability, but from a business-sponsorship standpoint, it’s a piece of equipment that really aids the environment.”
Moats expects the ribbon board to help increase revenue and improve the atmosphere at events.
“We can maybe take some of the things we’re doing on the floor and put them on the board to balance out the experience,” he said.
The deal also provides the university with sponsorships in the form of in-kind, trade benefits of up to $500,000. The benefits are in addition to the guaranteed-rights fee, and would not be offset by revenue sharing.
As part of its early revenue efforts last year, Learfield’s Missouri State Sports Properties created the Bears Elite Partners Program, which officials estimated in November should generate $6 million over five years. The sponsorship program is designed to lock down long-term deals with as many as seven advertisers. Mercy, Great Southern Bank and KOLR/KOZL each signed up. Gardner said there are no new partners, but the deals have been modified to increase branding opportunities.
