Sports Marketing: History and Evolution

History 1858: First known athletic event to charge admission took place at a baseball game (admission just .50 cents) with attendance records varying from 1500 to 10000 Average ticket price to an MLB game in 2014 = $27.93

History Growth in SEM Fans willingness to spend discretionary income on SEM Emergence of TV and Radio increases exposure Corporations begin to see benefits with sports affiliation, resulting in sponsorship boom Celebrity endorsements and naming rights deals become common industry practice

History 1923 First endorsement deal Golfer Gene Sarazen signed an endorsement deal with Wilson Sporting Goods that becomes the longest running endorsement deal in the history of sports. The original deal was for $6,000 per year plus an equal amount for travel expenses. Renewal took place every two years until his death in May 1999.

History 1925 Goodyear Blimp Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company builds the Pilgrim, the first blimp to fly over athletic events

History 1928 Olympics Coke partners with the Olympics and remains a sponsor to this day

History 1939 TV First televised collegiate football game featuring Fordham against Waynesburg (PA) College

History 1939 NFL The first televised NFL game happened on this date. It was broadcast to 1,000 homes. The Philadelphia Eagles fell to the Brooklyn Dodgers 23- 14. (Yes, there was a football team named the Brooklyn Dodgers)

History 1949 Female Athlete Endorsement First major endorsement by a female. Babe Didrikson Zaharias signs with Wilson Sporting Goods for $100,000 a year

History 1951 Its Live On this day, NBC broadcast the first live coast-to-coast sporting event. The football game featured Duke University taking on the University of Pittsburgh.

History 1966 Get Your Degree In 1966, Ohio University begins offering the first Sports Marketing Degree program in the nation

History 1975 Pay-Per-View The first pay-per-view athletic event is the "Thrilla in Manilla" with Ali taking on Frazier. It is broadcast to 276 closed circuit locations. Ali won in the 14th when Frazier's trainer threw in the towel.

History 1979 All Sports All the Time On this date in sports marketing history, ESPN debuts

History 2003 Naming Rights The Chicago Bears becomes the first professional franchise to sell the naming rights of their team as Bank One becomes the “presenting” sponsor. The Chicago Bears presented by Bank One

Size and Scope of SEM One of the largest and fastest growing industries in the US The Sports Business Journal estimates that the US domestic sports consumption and investment in 2006 exceeded $213 Billion In 2015 The new College Football Playoff set cable ratings record on ESPN…Averaging nearly 33.4million viewers for the championship game

Factors Contributing to Industry Growth Increase in people participating in sports and Entertainment 1974 – 100k youth soccer players 2008 – Over 3million plus over 800k coaches/volunteers Increase in people following sports on TV 1971 – US broadcast 800hrs of sports 2006 – 5,100hrs from ESPN alone

Factors Contributing to Industry Growth Increase in sports/entertainment offerings 2005 – ESPN covers more than 65 sports Increase in attendance 1980 - NBA attendance = 9,449,340 2014 – Chicago Bulls averaged 21,716 per/game Increase in media coverage TV/Radio/Streaming/Magazines/News Papers

SEM Today 200million Americans or 7 of 8 Adults consider themselves sports fans It's estimated by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association that 42 million people age 12 and above in the U.S. and Canada played fantasy sports in 2014 The NCAA men’s basketball tournament will cost U.S. companies an estimated $134 million in “lost wages”