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| Everybody is excited about the deal with IMG College. |
Southeastern Conference athletics is about so much more now than just wins and losses. It's big business - the entertainment business. And sporting events are an entertainment experience that when used effectively build the school's brand and add value to the school. Game days are "consumer recruiting." When you walk away from an Ole Miss game, schools like Ole Miss want you to feel like you got your money's worth, that you had a good time, and that you want to come back.
Michael Thompson thinks the new relationship Ole Miss has with IMG College, the country's leading college marketing and multimedia company will help him further that goal.
"We're fired up," the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Communications and Marketing said. "I think this new relationship will enable our staff to do even more and reach its full potential. We're all excited."
IMG College acquired the existing multimedia contract Ole Miss had with Telesouth Communications in a deal that was announced over the weekend.
As I wrote yesterday, it's just the next step for athletic director Ross Bjork in taking Ole Miss closer to reaching its potential as a big time athletic program as any school with the good fortune of being a member of the SEC should be considering the unmatched finances, prestige and popularity of the conference.
Thompson said IMG College acquired Telesouth Communications' existing multimedia rights contract with Ole Miss, but that now that that deal had been accomplished Ole Miss and IMG College are in active discussions toward forming a new agreement which could be reached in just a few weeks.
It's easy to see how a company the size of IMG College, already performing the same tasks for many other large athletic programs (such as Alabama), will enable Thompson and his staff, who perform most of the off-the-field action you see on game day, from videos to the advertising to sound, music, etc., to be more efficient. There are so many nuances and details to running the perfect game day that IMG's experience will only make Ole Miss' that much better.
IMG College will bring a boost to revenue, too.
Thompson also predicted tangible differences in broadcast reach, sponsorships and entertainment offerings and an overall better game day experience.
As an example, Ole Miss fans might notice is a beefed up "The Season" for baseball.
"The IMG folks really liked what we do with The Season," Thompson said. "I think you'll see more with that."
The new relationship with IMG should also allow Ole Miss to broadcast more strongly in existing markets and expand into some where a bigger presence is needed.
And then there's the sponsorships. IMG College will immediately add relationships with national-level sponsors that Thompson believes will serve to further enhance the game experience.
"Sponsorships are so important for revenue purposes," Thompson said, "but we want them to be non-intrusive and add to the game experience rather than be a distraction. IMG will give us more opportunities to do that. They will bring more sponsors that will look and feel like a natural fit."
Thompson said IMG's acquisition of Telesouth Communication's contract costs Ole Miss nothing and that it does mean the relationship with Telesouth Communications has reached its final conclusion.