Revenue streams

[FQDawg]

Saw this in the Birmingham News...

Quote:_________________________________________________Bill Battle, a former Alabama football player under Bear Bryant and chairman of The Collegiate Licensing Company, said universities were slow to realize the amount of money they could make from athletic licensing...

Today, it's easy to go to a local Wal-Mart and find college apparel. CLC, which represents all SEC schools except Mississippi State, estimates the SEC was responsible for $600 million in retail sales of officially licensed products in fiscal year 2007. That ranks No. 1 among CLC's leagues.
_________________________________________________

I had no idea we were the only school in the SEC without a CLC deal. Why on earth didn't we have one? Apparently we are still slow to realize the amount of money that can be made from licensing.

I hope this is something Greg Byrne changes very quickly.

 

[FQDawg]

Saw this in the Birmingham News...

Quote:_________________________________________________Bill Battle, a former Alabama football player under Bear Bryant and chairman of The Collegiate Licensing Company, said universities were slow to realize the amount of money they could make from athletic licensing...

Today, it's easy to go to a local Wal-Mart and find college apparel. CLC, which represents all SEC schools except Mississippi State, estimates the SEC was responsible for $600 million in retail sales of officially licensed products in fiscal year 2007. That ranks No. 1 among CLC's leagues.
_________________________________________________

I had no idea we were the only school in the SEC without a CLC deal. Why on earth didn't we have one? Apparently we are still slow to realize the amount of money that can be made from licensing.

I hope this is something Greg Byrne changes very quickly.

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

to this question

Quote:_________________________________________________Why on earth didn't we have one? _________________________________________________

I will let you try to figure it out first. Shouldn't take you long.

 

[RebelBruiser]

[No message]

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

+1

 

[FQDawg]

Well, I guess I should have phrased the question differently. I know it is Larry's fault, but I guess I was just curious if there had ever been a reason given as to why he didn't sign on with CLC.

Seems like an easy decision to make to me, but then again I would want to promote my school as much as possible.

 

[Goat Holder]

No way.

Or at least that's how LT probably thought about it.

 

[patdog]

Yeah, because Auburn and Tennessee are all about making Alabama more money. Thanks again, LT.

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

who the hell knows why he would not sign with a company that could increase our revenue? Why would our AD not support our cowbell tradition? He knew full well that the ban would pass regardless of his vote. Why not oppose it and not piss off his own fan base?

 

[Goat Holder]

and I'm 100% anti-LT, but you have to think he gets some type of pressure from the SEC office. I don't know what they could do to us if LT stood up to them though. They won't kick us out and they have to give us our share of money. I mean, you have to obey your boss to an extent.

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

Quote:_________________________________________________but you have to think he gets some type of pressure from the SEC office._________________________________________________

That is easily overcome. LT to commish. "Hey, I have no problem with this cowbell ban, but I have to vote in opposition to it in order to keep the MSU fans happy and giving money to the program. Know that my opposition vote is only a vote for that purpose."

See how easy that is. We the MSU fans are never the wiser. We believe that our AD actually cares about our traditions, the SEC gets the ban they want, and LT gets to be on both sides.

 

[Goat Holder]

and LT probably had his own agenda. We do need to stay in the good graces of the SEC as well. To what extent practical, none of us know, except maybe LT.

To the outsiders, he definitely appears spineless.

 

[SnakePlissken]

Quote:_________________________________________________LT probably had his own agenda_________________________________________________

He did. He personally hates the cowbells. He and Potera both wanted them gone years ago!! According to LT and Portera, the cowbell is a negative image on the school. Thank goodness both of them are now HISTORY!!

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

L.T. tells the SEC that he agrees with them. Says that he has to vote no to keep the fans happy, but he also knows voting no won't hurt the measure. He glad hands & kisses *** to the commish & the other 11 ADs (i.e. staying in good graces) while getting to pay lip service to his own fans that he opposed the cowbell ban but his hands were tied by being only 1 voice out of 12. It is really simple.

 

[Todd04State]

but I'm pretty sure that liscensing (if that's even a word) costs money in the sense that we get a cut and the liscensing company gets a cut. Basically LT wanted all the money to go to MSU.

Just like The Junction- remember LT didn't want to do it because the athletic dept. wouldn't get all the profits from it among other lame excuses like encouraging fights between our fans and other schools fans and traffic flow problems.

LT's view was pretty short sighted. If this company is able to sell a whole lot of MSU stuff, and we get to keep 75% of the profit, it's worth it if the company makes quality merchandise and makes it available to people. Our MSU apparel is advertisement for the University and the athletic programs, so the more you can get out there, the better.

 

[Goat Holder]

wanted the cowbells gone and wants the MSU fanbase to know that all the AD's, including their own, are united against it. All I'm saying is that there is more to it than everyone's own hindsight example.

 

[Three Putt]

of annual net revenue for comparable lower echelon programs (UM, Vandy) for sales of licensed products through CLC and the annual net revenue for state **** licensed by Mr. Gnome.

When f'n 11 programs go with CLC and your AD is the lone ranger, you're dealing with a deep psychosis. Good riddance MFer.

 

[patdog]

Exactly, Todd. You're paying the licensing company for the distribution and access to a larger market. Keeping it in-house so you get 100% of the profits is a bad deal if you're giving up 75% of a $1,000,000 profit to keep 100% of a $500,000 profit.

 

[Big Sheep81]

What have I missed about the SEC and my cowbell?

 

[awalkerdog]

Quote:_________________________________________________Basically LT wanted all the money to go to MSU._________________________________________________

You are correct sir.

 

[codeDawg]

MSU using a company called Licensing Resource Group, which represents a lot of other schools around the country to manage trademark licensing.

www.msstate.edu/dept/gcou...emark.html

I think the big difference is that CLC also offers brand marketing and other brand services we could use, but it I'm sure someone is doing the equation to determine if investing in those programs would be profitable. I'm not sure if anyone on this site could tell you one way or the other.

 

[patdog]

I just checked their website. They list the following BCS schools as clients:

Arizona St.
Iowa St.
Mississippi St.
North Carolina St.
Texas A&M
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

I have no idea if any of the others are exclusive deals. What are the odds that the other 11 SEC schools went with the company that would be less profitable, while Larry Templeton went with the company that would be more profitable?

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

We all know that the entire rest of the conference wanted the cowbell gone. It is a well established fact. If the rest of them wanted to force LT to side with them, that is where the argument of him being a spineless twit comes in. However, I tend to doubt that they had to twist his arm too hard to make him cave. Also, I don't give two ***** what the rest of the conference wants. The cowbell is a unique tradition to State and ANY and EVERY MSU administrator should fight to preserve it if they are in a position to do so.

Quote:_________________________________________________All I'm saying is that there is more to it than everyone's own hindsight example._________________________________________________

I tend to doubt it is anywhere nearly as complicated as you would like to imagine.

 

[Goat Holder]

Quote:_________________________________________________I tend to doubt it is anywhere nearly as complicated as you would like to imagine. _________________________________________________

but where you become a prick is when you imply that I'm imagining things. LT did not want the worst for MSU, as YOU would like to imagine.

 

[gdogg]

of Collegiate Licensing orgainizations. Without knowing anything about the licensing industry, if LT made the decision, I am going to assume their was a better alternative.

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

Quote:_________________________________________________LT did not want the worst for MSU, as YOU would like to imagine._________________________________________________

I did not say LT wanted the worst for MSU. LT always wants what is best for LT first. If that means MSU gets the shaft, then so be it. LT is first and foremost about his image with his SEC & NCAA AD peers.

If using the word imagine to describe your thought process about this matter makes me a prick, then so be it. I guess that makes you a prick as well since you did the same thing.

 

[StateLover]

It's akin to retailers not taking american express because they will lose six more cents on the dollar in fees.

You would easily make up that difference in numbers of new customers who live on their AMEX. Stupid business decision.

 

[DowntownDawg]

...we can't cross the streams.

 

[redfish66]

********

Quote:_________________________________________________LT always wants what is best for LT first. If that means MSU gets the shaft, then so be it. LT is first and foremost about his image with his SEC & NCAA AD peers._________________________________________________

I think Larry always did what he thought was best for MSU, even if some of us disagreed with it or thought it was short sided.

As far as cowbells go, I seem to remember when LT got the job, there was a push to get rid of the bells internally. Somebody on States campus tried to get rid of them in the mid to late 80's.

 

[Big Sheep81]

Has the SEC acted recently to ban cowbells?

 

[patdog]

A couple of years ago the ADs (including Templeton) voted unanimously for a 5-yard penalty for football teams violating the existing artificial noisemakers rule (after a warning, similar to the sideline warning). It pissed a lot of MSU fans off that Templeton wouldn't at least give a symbolic vote against a rule that is pretty much specifically designed to hurt MSU.

 

[Todd04State]

is when we have sustained success in football. The latest "enforcement" was in 2002. Not coincidentally this was the year after we beat Eli and Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. I'm pretty sure Khayat was one of the big guns behind the ban, as he was the whole NCAA investigation at the time. The problem was LT was a limp dick and let it happen.

 

[Todd04State]

but to him that also meant "cheapest" for MSU. I'm not so uncertain that he was unhappy with the football teams demise so that he would have to deal with less traffic on gameday. This is the only AD in the country that bitches about having to send the basketball team to New York City for the NIT finals because it would "cost us money".

He was also too reluctant to make changes at the head coaching positions, which is also the cheap way to go. Going on a coaching search costs money and paying off the old coach costs money. So, he would just stay with the status quo and hope they pull a miracle out and just say "We are patient and I always believed in coach ___." It happened a couple of times with Sherrill and Polk.