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MEAC joins HBCU deal with Russell
July 27, 2004
New Vision Sports Properties, an African-American-owned company, has announced
that the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference has joined an exclusive, first-of-its-kind
licensing alliance with Russell Corporation. The partnership also involves
previously announced agreements with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (SIAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
In April, New Vision Sports negotiated an agreement with Russell Corporation
on behalf of the SIAC and SWAC that kicked-off the partnership. Beginning
with this fallıs football season, the institutions from the MEAC, as well as
the SIAC and SWAC conferences, will grant a five-year exclusive license to
Russell to manufacture and sell the merchandise of the Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are members of the conferences. As part of the
agreement, Russell will provide the conferences with royalties on the sales
of apparel licensed through the institutions. Russell will also supply the
institutions with uniforms, performance and casual apparel, and athletic
equipment.
³This is a win-win for Russell Corporation and our participating
institutions,² says MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas. ³We are elated to
know that a company of Russellıs stature understands the economic value of
our universities. This kind of corporate partnership was long overdue and we
respect Russell for taking the leadership position and having the financial
vision and courage to execute it. Given todayıs athletic market place, it is
important to open up additional revenue streams and this partnership affords
this.²
Athletic programs from the three conferences included in the agreement are
menıs and womenıs basketball, soccer, football, baseball, softball and
volleyball.
³We are pleased to reach an agreement with the MEAC that we believe will be
beneficial to the conference, the universities involved and to our
business,² said Jon Letzler, Russell Corporation president and COO. ³In
addition to the uniforms and equipment for their various sports teams, we
will also be providing licensed product for their college bookstores and
working with them on potential retail opportunities.²
The nine MEAC institutions benefiting from this
agreement include Bethune-Cookman College, Coppin State University, Delaware
State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, University of
Maryland-Eastern Shore, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State
University and South Carolina State University.
New Vision Sports Properties of Oakland, California is a full service sports
marketing company that specializes in selling, executing and servicing major
corporate partnerships. In it's first year of representing the MEAC, SIAC
and SWAC as a group, New Vision has implemented a multi-faceted
sports marketing program that has generated dividends for the
universities in the form of a newly created and extensive television deal
and a new merchandise/retail program.
More information about New Vision Sports can be found on the web at
newvisionsports.net.
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