Part two/Three-part series

Soft drinks, sportswear and an airline are a few sponsors collegiate athletic programs recognize on landmark signs.

Those corporate endeavors pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into college athletic coffers each year. The more exposure a program attracts, the more sponsors are interested.

That’s something members of the new made-for-TV Big 12 conference know well. Corporate contributions to athletic departments across the country are on the rise, especially in the Big 12.

“I think the interest in the forming of the Big 12 conference has generated more companies excited about being a corporate sponsor. It increases their visibility,” said Deana Otts, marketing coordinator at Texas Tech University. Three huge companies help sponsor Texas Tech athletics: Southwest Airlines, Holiday Inn and McDonald’s, among others.

Schools in the Big 12 Conference are generating a total of more than $12 million from more than 500 local and national sponsors.

Scott Barnes, associate athletic director for development and special projects at Iowa State, said ISU generates more than $400,000 from at least 25 sponsors, most of which are local. The three main university sponsors are: Coca-Cola, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. and Norwest Bank of Iowa.

Of the ISU athletic department’s $15.86 million budget, 3 percent of its revenue is generated from corporate dollars.

Corporate dollars not new

Since Iowa State began its corporate sponsorship program in 1992, it has gradually increased the number of sponsors. But corporate sponsors are fairly new to Iowa State when compared to programs at other universities in the Big 12.

“It is something that has been prevalent for many, many years,” Barnes said. “Because of schools like Iowa State and other Midwestern schools that have strong fan support, they haven’t had to rely on [corporate sponsorships] 10 to 15 years ago. But now, it is real life. It is done everywhere.”

The corporate sponsorship program at the University of Colorado is 11 years old, said Chris May, assistant athletic director of marketing at Colorado. The school generates up to $3 million in corporate dollars from 40 sponsors, which include Nike, Subaru and AT&T.

As a general rule, universities with strong football and men’s basketball programs are more attractive to sponsors because that’s where the bulk of the media exposure lies.

“Denver is a large media market and that drives our numbers,” May said.

Although most sponsors are attracted because of a school’s successful football and men’s basketball programs, May expects the number of sponsors will continue to rise due to increased interest in women’s sports.

Heidi Couca, athletic marketing director at the University of Nebraska, said the success of the school’s teams — chiefly football — has had “a large impact” on the number of corporate sponsorships.

Nebraska, which started its corporate sponsorship program in 1992, generates $700,000 from 65 sponsors, which include Cellular One and Chevrolet. Nebraska has won the last wire service NCAA football championships.

The number of sponsorships, however, doesn’t necessarily mean big bucks. Contributions vary greatly, most often correlating to the size of the corporations.

For example, Iowa State and Kansas State each generate more than $400,000 from corporate sponsors. But ISU has 25 sponsors and Kansas State has 15.

Difference in dollars

Randy Sissel, director of sports marketing at the University of Missouri, describes the school’s corporate sponsorship program as “an aggressive marketing style.”

Missouri’s 15-year program generates $400,000 from sponsors, which include Anheuser Busch, Sprint and Ace Hardware.

Although Missouri’s corporate sponsorship program is older than Iowa State’s, the schools generate the same amount in sponsorship dollars. Much of this has to do with what university officials define as corporate sponsorships.

Many universities consider television and radio agreements as part of their corporate revenue, Barnes said. “Institutions determine to what extent it is done.”

Barnes said ISU is limited to what it can market because it does not account for media agreements as part of its corporate sponsorship revenue. Nor does Missouri.

Missouri’s corporate revenue figures also do not include game program advertisements or corporate ticket sales.

Such agreements are commonplace at schools like Colorado, which generate up to 40 percent of its athletic department revenue from corporate sponsors.

Whatever the arraignment, officials at nearly all major universities say corporate dollars are here to stay as the pressure to win mounts, other revenue strings shrink and fans demand more bang for their ticket price.

“Generation X coming into your stadium,” Missouri’s Sissel said, “are folks who are reared on visual and auditory effects.”