Lakewood Stadium Naming Rights go to First Federal of Lakewood

First Federal Lakewood secures naming rights to Lakewood Stadium

Here’s a great sponsorship that we came across. First Federal of Lakewood (OH) has agreed to a partnership with the Lakewood City Schools, with the school receiving a $320,000 cash infusion in exchange for naming rights for the Lakewood Stadium. The deal is for 10 years. 

First Federal Lakewood Stadium, as it is now called, seats approximately 7,500 people. It is known as one of the prime stadiums in the area and is used for football, soccer and track meets. In addition to being used by Lakewood High School, the facility is also used by St. Edward High School. 

The naming rights agreement includes First Federal’s name and logo on signage, end zones, scoreboard, concession stands and the press box.

The school system said in a news release that the partnership is in direct response to the district receiving less state money and property tax collections due to a still-recovering economy. The bank will pay the district $32,000 per year.

Athletic Director Profile - Bo Kuntz

Over the years, HTM has developed relationships with thousands of High School Athletic Directors from across the country. Occasionally we like to showcase some of those ADs. Today's blog will feature North Royalton City Schools (Ohio) Athletic Director Bo Kuntz:

The 2012 High School Charity Game was held at Cleveland Browns Stadium in August 25^th and the game featured a local rivalry between the North Royalton Bears and the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bees in a showdown for the Golden Shoe trophy. This was a huge game for both schools and prior to the game we had a chance to talk to North Royalton Athletic Director Bo Kuntz. (The Bears defeated the Bees in a back and forth battle with a final score of 54-42.)

 

Kuntz began his career as an intern for the now defunct Cleveland Stadium Corporation (CSC) back when the old Municipal Stadium was around. He interned for CSC through undergrad and grad school. Kuntz is a graduate of Ohio University where he earned his BS in Health and Physical Education and MSA in Sports Administration. After working for six years in the Medina Highland School district, he joined the staff at North Royalton where he is in his third year.

Kuntz’s role includes overseeing the entire district for grades 7 through 12. He handles team schedules, officials, transportation, budgets, public relations, marketing, fundraising, facility scheduling and event management.

Kuntz’s students may be surprised to learn that he coached women’s college basketball for 25 years and women’s college softball for 10 years. 

Kuntz says the best piece of advice anyone has ever given him is to work to your full potential every day and don’t worry about what people think about you. 

If you ask him what the biggest advantage high school student-athletes have over their peers who don’t participate in high school sports, he will tell you that they are better prepared for college and leadership roles post high school. Kuntz’s comment supports the research that shows that students that participate in high school sports experience better outcomes than non-athletes including higher education attainment, employment rates and wages. Kuntz also encourages his graduating seniors to get involved in all aspects of their college career to make the most of the experience, whether if be sports, drama or marching in the band.

In his spare time, Kuntz enjoys spending time with his family and golfing. His favorite sports teams are any Cleveland pro team and Iowa Men’s Basketball. Kuntz’s stepson Aaron White is a sophomore for the Hawkeyes, he was a freshman All-American. His other stepson Brian White owns Empire Recordings in Downtown Cleveland.

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. 

OHSAA Convenes Athletic Task Force – by Lawrence Budd, Dayton Daily News

We borrowed this story with permission from Lawrence Budd at the Dayton Daily News. In case you missed it, definitely worthwhile reading:

 

The association that oversees high-school athletics in Ohio has formed a task force to work with school-district treasurers in the wake of questionable use of more than $100,000 in receipts from games or sports camps at several schools in separate incidents.

Athletic directors, coaches and other school officials in more than a half-dozen districts — including several in central Ohio — have faced scrutiny in 2012 for questionable use of funds.

Officials said part of the problem stems from different approaches by Ohio school districts: In some, all money is accounted for through the district treasurer, while others allow coaches to hold payments from sports camps and gate receipts in private accounts.

“Under Ohio law, boards of education have substantial discretion to define payment procedures and the proper use of bank accounts, but once those procedures are defined, they must be followed,” Ohio Auditor Dave Yost’s office said in a statement issued as part of audits uncovering irregularities by athletic directors in the Olentangy school district, north of Columbus.

Also contributing to confusion are unofficial agreements between local officials and coaches allowing the coaches to keep profits from sports camps as added compensation, according to John Doll, a school board member in Centerville, near Dayton, and the lawyer representing coaches in Springboro under scrutiny for their handling of money collected for sports camps.

“You’re never going to find it in writing. It’s just a discussion they’ll have with them,” Doll said.

Developing standards

Officials with the Ohio High School Athletic Association have formed the Treasurers Liaison Group to work with district treasurers from across the state to tighten controls over school sports revenue, particularly receipts from OHSAA games.

“The main focus of the meetings is to develop a standard framework for financial accountability for both regular-season and tournament events, as well as other activities at Ohio’s schools,” Tim Stried, the OHSAA’s director of information services, said in an email. “We also have some other items on the agenda to discuss, like summer sports camps, but have not had an opportunity to fully engage on this subject yet.”

Scrutiny of the collection of game receipts, the association’s main source of revenue, has heightened following a series of incidents in 2012 in Ohio school districts, including the Huber Heights City Schools, just north of Dayton.

This year, Jay Minton, the athletic director and football coach at the district’s Wayne High School, was required to pay back $4,176 in gate receipts from a September 2011 game with Sir Frederick Banting High School from London, Ontario. Two audits failed to determine what happened to the money, leaving Minton — the responsible official in his role as athletic director — to cover the loss.
“I got thrown under the bus,” Minton said in a text message.

Wayne High School’s Class of 1982 and donations from other private sources helped Minton pay back the money. Since then, Minton said he has put financial controls in place, including the requirement of two signatures for every exchange of cash, ensuring proper accounting and a paper trail.

Central Ohio cases

This past spring in the Olentangy school district, in Delaware County, an athletic director resigned and outside accounts held by three district athletic directors were closed. The accounts were closed after a state audit, sought by the district after questions about the collection of game receipts identified more than $11,000 in misspent funds. The coaches repaid the district, and no charges were filed.

Also in 2012, the Worthington, Gahanna-Jefferson and Hilliard school districts began routing revenue from game-ticket sales through the districts’ treasurers’ offices. The athletic director at Hilliard Bradley High School admitted converting $12,000 in tournament receipts for personal use after an audit identified a $40,000 discrepancy between bank statements and deposits reported to the OHSAA.

Going into business

While required to track the gate receipts, some school districts, including Mason City Schools in Warren County, allow coaches to run their sports camps through private corporations, enabling the coaches to supplement their incomes and clearing up any confusion about liability and profits, officials said.

“Many of them have started their own corporations,” said Mike Brannon, assistant superintendent of operations in Mason. “They’re doing business like anyone else would do business.”
Parents are advised that the camps are not part of the school district’s operations. The coaches’ companies pay the district for school facilities’ use and other expenses.

“It’s taken awhile for them to understand they are in business for themselves. Now, it’s second nature,” Brannon said.

In Springboro, south of Dayton, coaches handled camp fees through private accounts until the board began asking questions earlier this year.

In June, the board amended district policy to require coaches to report camp finances to the treasurer’s office. In July, Troy Holtrey, the longtime boy’s basketball coach and former athletic director, reported about $20,000 in gross revenue from recent camps.

Holtrey, who was replaced as the coach in 2012 after 21 years at the school, said he would be writing a check for $10,141 “from my account” and signing over another $1,585 in checks to the district, according to an email to the athletic director.

“Schools can go different directions,” said Doll, the lawyer for Holtrey and three other coaches who were asked for records by the district and state auditors.

Handling camp funds

Doll said the question of how to handle coach-camp funds had never come up in his time on the school board in Centerville, south of Dayton.

Coaches sometimes pay players and others to help at camps. Districts that manage coach-camp funds are subject to income taxes and other benefits typically withheld for employees, Doll said.
Since taking the Springboro coaches’ case, Doll said he has questioned experts and officials from districts across Ohio. Historically, the coaches handled the camp funds in their own accounts through unofficial agreements, he said. In the past decade, school districts have begun formalizing the arrangements or overseeing the funds through board offices.

“It has changed because people in the public have asked questions about it,” Doll said.
While recognizing Doll’s points, Jim Rigano, a board member in Springboro, said coaches and other school officials need to be careful with how they handle all public funds.

“It’s always important that school-district officials act with integrity. When you are a public employee, there’s a high standard of ethical conduct. At the end of the day, you’re dealing with the public’s trust,” Rigano said.

lbudd@DaytonDailyNews.com

Home Team Marketing Gives $20 million back to high schools

 by Jackie Keim, Director of Marketing and PR

The founders of Home Team Marketing are proud to announce that as of the end of the 2012-13 academic year, the company will have given a total of $20 million back to its partner high schools and state associations since the company opened its doors in 2001. 

HTM partners with corporations seeking to reach fans at high school athletic events and in turn 50% of the revenue from each partnership is given to the participating high schools.

HTM was founded with the goal of providing financial relief to struggling high schools across the nation. “We partner with businesses that want to make a difference to high school student-athletes and their surrounding communities,” said Peter Fitzpatrick, President and Co-Founder of Home Team Marketing.  “We started this business because we recognized the value of participation in high school sports, whether the students go on to participate at the collegiate level, or finish their career as a senior. By being on a sports team they learn leadership and teamwork, skills that will help them be successful in life. Schools have been negatively impacted by budget cuts, HTM wanted to try and find a way to help these schools,” continued Fitzpatrick. 

Revenues earned for corporate partnerships are deposited into the schools’ general fund. HTM also works with state high school associations, which in turn are able to assist high schools through scholarships, catastrophic insurance and in some cases, travel expenses for post season competition.

“We are very proud of the $20 million” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s an incredible number, especially when we see the many positive ways that schools have benefited from the funding.”

We salute the corporations that have stepped up to support high school student athletes and their surrounding communities, particularly Air National Guard, Allstate, American Family Insurance, AT&T, Burger King, Caribou Coffee, Cargill, Cleveland Clinic, Dunkin Donuts, Farmers Insurance, Gander Mountain, Indiana State University, Kaiser Permanente, Lonestar Steakhouse, Marathon, McDonalds, Meijer, Motorists, Nationwide Insurance, Nike, Outback Steakhouse, Sears Hometown Stores, Shurtech Brands, Sports Authority, Subway, Super 1 Foods, Taco Bell, Time Warner Cable, University of Cincinnati, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marines, Verizon Wireless and Walmart, among many others.