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- Sport & Story Daily December 8, 2023
Sport & Story Daily December 8, 2023
Sport & Story Daily December 8 2023

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Stay Ahead of the Game
December 8, 2023
Good morning! AdAge.com releases the Top 5 sports marketing moments of 2023

THE TOP 5 SPORTS MARKETING MOMENTS OF 2023
Sports, which can engage large and engaged audiences like few other properties, continued to be a favorite for marketers in 2023. Meanwhile, team owners and investors are paying more to be in the game, owing to large returns and ever-appreciating assets.
adage.com
Sources: Masters champ Jon Rahm leaving PGA Tour for LIV Golf
In a deal that could have a far-reaching impact on the future landscape of men's professional golf and inject even more uncertainty into an already-fractured sport, Masters champion Jon Rahm has agreed to leave the PGA Tour for the Saudi Arabian-financed LIV Golf League, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
LIV Golf is expected to announce Rahm's addition Thursday, barring a last-minute change of heart from the former world No. 1 player, the sources said.
espn.com
ESPN and Disney Entertainment Television Team Up with Brittney Griner to Exclusively Share Her Story Across Multiple Platforms
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and nine-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner will partner exclusively with ESPN and Disney Entertainment Television to share her story through various projects on their platforms. A documentary feature from ESPN Films and scripted series development with ABC Signature are in the works. She will also sit down for her first exclusive interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts.
“The last two years have been the most harrowing, transformative and illuminating period of my life, and I am grateful to be in a place now to share my story with the world,” said Brittney Griner.
espnpressroom.com
Former Jaguars employee accused of stealing more than $22 million from team
A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee is accused of stealing more than $22 million from the franchise from 2019 to 2023 bey exploiting the organization’s virtual credit card program, and he used that money to buy, among other items, two vehicles, a condominium and a designer watch worth over $95,000. Some of that money was also allegedly used to purchase cryptocurrency and place bets with online gambling sites.
theathletic.com
As Sports Radio Leaders Prepare for 2024, Ask Yourself This One Question
Whether you’re a Market Manager, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, Program Director/Brand Manager, Host, or Producer, as you make your preparations for 2024, the one question you should be asking is: Do we have a digital video strategy?
If the answer is yes, congratulations. That’s awesome. Now, what platforms are you prioritizing? If your answer is no, ask yourself: why not?
There’s a harsh truth that comes with what I’m about to say, that isn’t popular with old-school radio programmers. But truth is like poetry, and most people f—ing hate poetry. If you’re not on YouTube or Twitch, you likely don’t exist to anyone under the age of 25. And if you look at the first number in your target demo, that age matters.
barrettsportsmedia.com

Your Vision Insights: Well, What About Experiential?
A major opportunity for sponsors to surpass the awareness threshold and into the hearts & minds of fans is through experiential activation. Ever wonder which fan bases are tops when it comes to the likelihood of engaging with booths, promos, and activations areas? The graphic below illustrates the top 6 U.S fan bases that say they’re likely to engage with sponsor booths and promo areas while attending live events.

Editor’s Note: In yesterday’s edition of Sport & Story Daily, the Spotlight Feature for ‘Vision Insights: Well, What About Experiential?’ featured the incorrect graphic. It has been corrected here.
Your Vision Insights: NCAA Football Sponsor Recall
Now that we know who will be competing for NCAA Football's National Championship on the field this season, which official partners are winning off the field? It's a pretty consistent story across the fan bases of the 4 teams competing in the CFP, with Gatorade, Nike, Dr. Pepper, Capital One, and Chick-Fil-A rounding out the top 5, but AT&T slides onto the leader board with Texas fans replacing Capital One.


GARY A. VASQUEZ-USA TODAY SPORTS
Can NBA Turn In-Season Tournament Into Media Rights Gold?
The hotly-anticipated negotiations for NBA media rights became more intriguing with the introduction of the new In-Season Tournament.
Starting with the 2023-2024 season, the NBA will launch a new annual competition for all 30 clubs. The inaugural event tips off on Nov. 3 – and culminates with the Championship Game on Dec. 9 in Las Vegas.
frontofficesports.com
NICK KYRGIOS JOINS ONLYFANS, PLAYS COY ON CONTENT PLANS
“Launching an OnlyFans was a no-brainer,” Kygrios said in a statement. “I’ve been speaking to my fans directly for years, and I know what they want to see. Of course, there’ll be tennis balls involved, tips, tricks and behind the scenes, but also they’ll get to see all different sides of me. Gaming, tattoos, my intimate side—it’s all on the table, and I’ll be bringing fans along for the ride!”
OnlyFans reports having more than 3 million creators posting on its site, with platform revenue exceeding $1 billion in 2022. Individuals can put their content behind subscriptions ranging from $5 to $50 a month in addition to accepting tips and micropurchases. CEO Keily Blair was promoted into that role in July with a stated goal of making OnlyFans “the platform of choice for a diverse range of creators and fans across the world.”
sportico.com

Jim Boeheim Made a Career Out of Treating Media Poorly, But Now Wants In on the Action
For the first time in nearly half a century, former Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim is starting a new job. After 47 seasons with the Orange, Boeheim began his broadcasting career earlier this week, after agreeing to a deal with ESPN, ACC Network, and Westwood One.
On the surface, it’s great news for basketball fans, who now get to hear what a coach who won over 1,000 games has to say. For others, especially those in the media, welcoming in this new voice comes with a little trepidation. Why?
I’m not sure that Jim Boeheim has the same assessment about how he treated the media. He felt like defending himself was necessary, but it went past that on many occasions.
barrettsportsmedia.com
Average of Over 45 Million Viewers Watched Thanksgiving Day Football in 2023, According to Custom Survey
The National Football League commissioned a custom survey from Nielsen, a leading media measurement and analytics company, to complement Nielsen's audience measurement data and provide further insights into how many people in the U.S. watched NFL football on Thanksgiving Day, particularly in group settings.
According to the custom study, the average audience across all three Thanksgiving Day games was 45.4 million – a 33% increase from the 34.1 million viewers reported to have watched the games, the largest Thanksgiving Day average audience on record. Additionally, the Green Bay Packers versus Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders versus Dallas Cowboys games each averaged approximately 50 million viewers.
nflcommunications.com

YANKEES, PADRES PATHS DIVERGE WITH JUAN SOTO TRADE
A month ago, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman outlined his club’s needs heading into the offseason—two outfielders and a frontline pitcher or two—and did the background work ahead of MLB’s annual Winter Meetings.
But as of Tuesday, Cashman had come up empty-handed.
“We have nothing to show for it yet,” he said.
That all changed dramatically on Wednesday, when the Yankees obtained highly sought-after left fielder Juan Soto, plus two-time Gold Glove-winning center fielder Trent Grisham from the San Diego Padres.
sportico.com
Indigenous Lacrosse Team at Olympics? White House Backing Push for Solo Squad
Just weeks after the announcement of lacrosse’s inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics in L.A., the sport’s leaders are pushing for a significant modification to the competition – one that honors lacrosse’s origins.
The Haudenosaunee, a group of six Indigenous nations formerly known as the Iroquois, is petitioning the IOC to compete as its own team, solely in this sport. Among those backing the push: the U.S. White House, the international governing body World Lacrosse, the LA28 organizing committee, and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
frontofficesports.com
Michie Stadium Preservation Project
The Army West Point Athletics Association (AWPAA) and the West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) announced that the initial private funding necessary to break ground in the Spring of 2024 on the Michie Stadium Preservation Project is secured. Expected completion for this project, which will rebuild and modernize the current East Stands, is slated for Summer 2026. During this time, Army West Point will continue to welcome fans at Michie Stadium for men’s and women’s lacrosse, football, graduation, and other special events.
“This project has been a critical need for over a decade, and we are thrilled to be breaking ground on such a transformative facility. It is a remarkable testament to the generosity and loyalty of the West Point community that we were able to raise $170 million in funding,” said Army West Point Director of Athletics Mike Buddie.
michiestadium.com

SC State has named Nathan Cochran as its new athletic director
Cochran played for Willie Jeffries. "We are ready to rejoin the Bulldog family."
twitter.com


ISAIAH VAZQUEZ/GETTY IMAGES
Athletes sue NCAA, Power 5 for not getting paid
The NCAA added a new legal challenge to its already cumbersome caseload Thursday, as a trio of college athletes filed suit against the association and its five most powerful conferences claiming that rules that prohibit schools from paying their athletes violate antitrust law.
Duke football player Dewayne Carter, Stanford soccer player Nya Harrison and TCU basketball player Sedona Prince filed their 70-page complaint in the Northern District of California federal court, the same venue where the NCAA has lost a series of antitrust claims in the past decade. Their attorneys requested an injunction that would prevent the NCAA from enforcing rules that prohibit "pay for play" compensation for athletes and seeks damages for past payments the athletes would have received if the current rules were not in place.
espn.com
Despite Deion Sanders' success, worthy HBCU coaches still aren't getting advancement opportunities
One year ago, Deion Sanders’ swift exit from Jackson State’s sideline brought a swell of attention to HBCU football that hadn’t existed in decades. What it didn’t bring were more opportunities for the coaches who are essentially lifers, no matter how much they’ve proven themselves. Before Sanders took the Colorado job, the last time a head coach was plucked from the HBCU ranks was in 2016 when Southern Miss came for Jay Hopson– the first white coach in the history of the SWAC.
deadspin.com
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