News from the world of high school sponsorships

      Good news for high schools interested in corporate logos on its fields. The NFHS has removed restrictions for corporate advertising and markings on the field of play. State Associations and their member schools are now permitted to place corporate advertising and/or commercial marketing on the field of play. Advertising is not permitted to obstruct the yard lines, hash marks or nine-yard marks. Previously advertising was only allowed in the end zones and outside the field. 

·       In other news, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) voted to begin offering title sponsorships for all state and regional championships staged by the Federation, beginning Fall 2012. 

·      Did you know that 24 states use at least some title sponsorships? Some state associations have had title sponsorship deals on a sport-by-sport basis for many years. But only six have had one firm sponsoring all events. One of those states is Oregon, which has had a deal with U.S. Bank since 1984. U.S. Bank is the title sponsor of the OSAA State Championships.  

 ·     The Kentucky High School Athletic Associations (KHSAA) has sponsors for various sports, ranging from Russell Athletic for football to PNC Bank for basketball, according to a story in USA Today. The closest it has to an integrated sponsorship is Rawlings paying to be "official ball sponsor" across multiple sports. KHSAA pulls in six figures on the biggest deals. At the low end, it gets about $5,000 from a company that sponsors bowling championships.

·       An article in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Sentinel Journal written by Mark Stewart debated whether or not public high schools should allow corporate sponsorship of its facilities. Stewart refers to Fort Atkinson in Wisconsin, the school plays its football games in Jones Dairy Farm Stadium and the basketball team’s home court is PremierBank gym. The school district finalized a 12-year, $95,000 agreement with Jones Dairy Farm for the naming rights to the stadium in June. In August, a 10-year, $50,000 agreement was finalized to put PremierBank’s name on the gymnasium. Part of the revenue from the sponsorship with Jones Dairy Farm was earmarked to the technology department in the district.  

That's it for now. Please feel to share your sponsorship news! Email jkeim@hometeammarketing.com with your story.