The National Collegiate Athletic Association and IMG today announced a broad partnership agreement that will center on marketing rights with the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association , and will also include extended rights for publishing programs, licensing agreements, and assistance with championship ticketing sales.
Under the terms of the 10-year agreement, NCAA and IMG will broaden their relationship in several new key areas:
- Sales representation of the NABC and WBCA programs at various club meetings, awards shows, professional development programs, fantasy camps, marketing symposia, and other events throughout the year.
- Ticket sales to select NCAA championship events run by a new operation in Indianapolis that will be managed and staffed by IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions.
The agreement extends IMG’s current publishing and licensing representation services to the NCAA:
- IMG, the exclusive licensed publisher and vendor for all NCAA championship game programs, including both print and digital formats, will continue to cover all 90 NCAA Division I, II and III championships in 23 sports, held at over 600 sites annually.
- Through its licensing affiliate, the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), IMG will continue to manage the NCAA’s trademark licensing program, as well as the equipment supplier program for NCAA championships. This also includes the sale of officially licensed NCAA products, such as NCAA championship basketballs, baseballs, volleyballs, and softballs.
“IMG has tremendous reach in the collegiate market and with many of our NCAA member schools. We’re excited about the opportunities this expanded relationship will bring to the assets we have to offer in the market place to strengthen our current programs and activations,” said Mark Lewis, NCAA executive vice president of championships and alliances.
“IMG is proud to have been partnered with the NCAA since 1975,” said Ben Sutton Jr., chairman and president of IMG’s College Division. “We’re honored to extend, expand and strengthen our relationship with an organization that is absolutely vital to the continued growth and success of college sports.”
About IMG
IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion and media operating in more than 25 countries around the world. IMG’s businesses include Events & Media, College, Golf, Tennis, Performance and IMG Academy, Fashion, Models, Clients, Licensing, Joint Ventures, and creative management agency Art + Commerce. In 2014, IMG was acquired by WME, the world’s leading entertainment and media agency. Together, the companies offer an unparalleled client roster; strategic partnerships with sponsors and brands; and marquee assets across sports, entertainment, events, music and fashion.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 460,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
For more information contact:
Gail Dent, NCAA, gdent@ncaa.org, 317-917-6117
Andrew Giangola, IMG, andrew.giangola@img.com, 646-871-2402