Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
November 9, 2001

Athletics signs 5-year, $8.1M marketing contract

Iowa State's athletics department has agreed to a five-year multimedia marketing rights agreement with Clear Channel Sports and ESPN Regional Television.

The agreement begins with the 2002-03 school year and includes TV and radio rights, corporate sponsorship agreements and other marketing initiatives that will generate guaranteed new revenue of $1.7 million through the 2006-07 school year.

"We are excited to partner with two of the industry's giants in sports marketing and communications," ISU athletic director Bruce Van De Velde said. The agreement is intended to improve coverage of Iowa State athletics and strengthen marketing.

The major portion of the agreement's guaranteed revenue will be generated in the final two years of the contract, which has a cumulative annual guaranteed rights fee of nearly $8.2 million over five years.

Five full-time employees of Clear Channel and ESPN Regional Television will sell and promote ISU athletics, Van De Velde said. That will allow ISU athletic marketing staff to focus on season-ticket and single-game ticket sales, promotions and event management.

Clear Channel has owned the radio rights to Iowa State football and men's and women's basketball for the past 13 years. ESPN Regional Television will enter its fifth year as the rights holder for ISU men's basketball games and the Larry Eustachy and Bill Fennelly TV shows. A Dan McCarney TV show will be added to the coaches' shows beginning with the 2002 season.