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#10: Virginia Tech worked with Learfield Amplify to install mesh chairbacks on 32K Lane Stadium seats, generating a $2.3M increase in season-ticket revenue, and Hokies Executive Assoc. AD for External Affairs and Advancement Brad Wurthman tells SBJ’s Bret McCormick: “This is a way we felt like we could provide an improved fan experience without having to dig out a whole side of our stadium.” McCormick notes that season-ticket prices for fans with chairbacks increased between $325 and $540 for the season while the total expense of deploying the chairbacks was around $1M as part of a seven-year contract with Learfield. (link)
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#9: Arizona AD Desireé Reed-Francois has reached an agreement to pay Missouri $2M for leaving the university earlier this year. Arizona paid MU $1.5M as part of the buyout, and Reed-Francois will owe the balance by the end of March 2031. She has two different options to pay the remainder: She can pay the school in installments over the next seven years, the first being a $50K payment on or before March 31, 2028. A $100K payment comes due in 2029, a $150K payment in 2030 and the final $200K in 2031. If Reed-Francois opts to pay $250K any time before March 31, 2028, the agreement will be considered settled. (link, link)
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#8: Bloomberg’s Peter Robison & Noah Buhayar tell the story of Michigan State Football student-athletes seriously contemplating boycotting last year’s game at Iowa after receiving an email from MSU-affiliated collective Spartan Dawgs 4 Life discontinuing NIL payments for some players. “At the hotel, (Interim HC Harlan) Barnett told the players not to head up to their rooms so he could hold a meeting first, according to a person familiar with the situation who declined to be identified revealing team discussions. Barnett told them what the collective had done wasn’t right and he’d understand if they didn’t play—but he hoped they would, and he believed they would win. (Barnett declined to comment for this story.) Other coaches shuttled among the players, trying to calm them down, according to two people there who declined to be identified.” An unnamed former Big Ten assistant coach: “It happens a ton. I had to do that to a few kids, and it was like, ‘Hey, I can’t really do anything about it.’” Lots more, though most is ground already covered on macro issues that have reshaped the industry. (link)
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#7: Cal State Bakersfield names former SMU Assoc. AD/SWA Susan Vollmerhausen as Senior Assoc. AD. (link)
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#6: NCAA SVP for External Affairs Tim Buckley responds to a USA Today column expressing concern that the House settlement could endanger Olympic sports. Buckley acknowledges that “collegiate Olympic sports programs DO face long-term threats. But, they aren’t b/c of the proposed House vs. NCAA settlement. The settlement would do two things at once. 1) Offer the largest expansion of financial benefits for student-athletes in college sports history. 2) The settlement would allow every DI athletic program to continue to provide athletes with life-changing opportunities as they do now. It in no way calls for limiting investment in Olympic sports. The real threat to Olympic sports programs? Turning student-athletes into employees. Employment would not be optional. College Olympic programs would see massive impacts should student-athletes be forced to become employees. 95%+ of athletic depts operate w/ deficit & student-athlete leaders from all 3 divisions oppose employment. The NCAA is making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes. But only Congress can pass legislation affirming student-athletes are not employees.” (link)
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#5: USA Today’s Matt Hayes reports “A group of Florida boosters have pulled together money to cover the expense of firing coach Billy Napier.” $26M is the number. No indication on the timing of such a move. (link)
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#4: USF has released a new rendering of the inside of its on-campus stadium, which is set to open in 2027. All seats on the west side will be exclusively for students and will provide them with a unique experience, which includes its own dedicated entrance, restrooms, and concessions. The west side will accommodate more than 8,000 students and will feature the “Iconic Bull U" logo, which USF has used for more than 20 years. The west side of the stadium will also include a landing for an in-game DJ. Have a look. (link)
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#3: American Athletic Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti released a statement amidst realignment rumblings: “The American Conference is a pioneering brand, firmly grounded in grit and hard work, with powerful and prestigious member institutions. In the past five months, we have prioritized seizing every opportunity that enhances value for our member institutions and student-athletes. Whether through private capital, naming rights, innovative partnerships, or realignment, we have proactively assessed each opportunity, and are prepared to collaboratively take action-steps, to be at the forefront of success and sustainability.” (link)
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#2: Check out this six-plus minute fly-through of Nebraska’s new 135,000-square foot Osborne Legacy Complex. If it’s missing something, I’ve yet to figure out what. (link)
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#1: Florida A&M is set to name Florida Sports Foundation President/CEO Angela Suggs as its next AD, with the Board of Trustees set to meet Friday to approve her three-year contract. Suggs previously served as the Rattlers Senior Assoc. AD for External Affairs/SWA. (link, link)
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