Sport & Story Daily April 10, 2024

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April 10, 2024

Good morning! Caitlin Clark Effect Hits WNBA

The Caitlin Clark Effect Hits WNBA Ticket Prices
FOS’ Margaret Fleming writes, “Caitlin Clark still isn’t officially on a WNBA team until next Monday’s draft. But teams and resellers are already jacking up prices for games against the Indiana Fever, who hold the No. 1 pick and are widely presumed to be drafting Clark.

“An analysis shows that of the eight games that are available first-hand, teams average a get-in price of $103.83 before fees, as of Tuesday afternoon, substantially higher than their typical offerings. The Chicago Sky, the closest team to Clark’s home state of Iowa, have the steepest ticket at $125 before fees for both Fever matchups.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

NBC Sports Looks to Top $1.25 Billion in Paris Olympics Ad Sales
As Sportico’s Anthony Crupi reports, “With 108 days to go before the Olympic cauldron is lit in Paris, NBC Sports has locked in a near-record $1.2 billion in advertising commitments—and orders continue to pour in. According to NBC sales exec Dan Lovinger, the 2024 Summer Games is ‘on track to generate the most ad revenue in Olympic history, which suggests that the Comcast-owned media giant is on pace to rake in more than $1.25 billion in sales.”
^sportico.com

Dude Perfect Scores $100M Investment From Highmount
Per SBJ, uber-popular YouTube group Dude Perfect has secured a nine-figure investment from Highmount Capital in "a play to build out their business in new areas and to expand their core programming." A source pegged the value of the investment at greater than $100M. In addition to expanding the group’s content output, Dude Perfect reportedly "wants to create more live experiences, as well as explore more consumer product opportunities."
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Auburn Signs 10-year Apparel Deal With Nike
SBJ reports: Auburn has signed a 10-year contract with Nike to be the school’s official apparel partner beginning in July 2025 after spending the last 18 years with Under Armour. Financial terms of the Nike deal were not announced; Auburn’s current deal with UA was for $78.1M when signed in 2015.

Auburn “isn't the first school in recent memory to spurn the provider for what it views as greener pastures” -- Texas Tech is leaving UA for Adidas later this year, while Kansas State “reportedly turned down Under Armour in February 2024 to stay with Nike on a three-year deal”
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

NCAA Men’s Final Ratings Can’t Match Women Amid UConn Routs
According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data via Sportico, TBS/TNT/truTV’s coverage of UConn’s repeat win averaged 14.823 million viewers, and while that marked an improvement of 130,000 impressions compared to last year’s 17-point blowout of San Diego State, the game still ranks as the second-lowest TV turnout for the men’s title game on the books.
^sportico.com

Relevent Sports, FIFA Settle Legal Fight Over Leagues Playing Games in Other Countries
Per SBJ, FIFA and U.S. promoter Relevent Sports have reached an agreement to “end their legal fight over the ban on big European football leagues and clubs playing official matches in the US,” according to Samuel Agini of the FINANCIAL TIMES.

There is “no guarantee that the resolution will result in European league games taking place in the US." But in a statement, Relevent said that FIFA was considering “changes to its existing rules about whether games can be played outside of a league’s home territory.”
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

John Calipari Announces He's Leaving Kentucky, Doesn't Indicate Next Move Despite Arkansas Reports
It's now official: John Calipari is leaving Kentucky. But unlike what’s been widely reported, he’s not confirming his next move.

Per Yahoo! Sports, Calipari posted a video Tuesday on X announcing his decision, but didn't indicate his next move. On Sunday, multiple media outlets reported Calipari was in "serious talks" to become Arkansas' next head coach.

"The last few weeks, we've come to realize that this program probably needs to hear another voice, that the university as a whole has to have another voice giving guidance about this program," Calipari said in the video.
^{sports.yahoo.com}

With Back-To-Back Titles, UConn Proves Basketball Is About More Than Power
As FOS’ Amanda Christovich writes, “The Huskies have proven that, unlike in FBS football, a non-Power 5 school can dominate in basketball. Since the College Football Playoff was created in 2014, every single national champion has come from one of the NCAA’s richest conferences. (The only arguable exception: Central Florida, which claimed a title in 2017 after not being admitted to the playoff, despite going undefeated.)”
^{frontofficesports.com}

NCAA's Dan Gavitt Talks Future of College Basketball
From SBJ via the D1 Ticker, NCAA SVP of Basketball Dan Gavitt Q&As with SBJ’s Ben Portnoy about the future of college hoops and says of possibly merging the men’s and women’s Final Fours into one big event. The committees “decided unanimously that wasn't the direction they wanted to go in.”

“Any consideration now would have to be early in the next decade, but always going to continue to think creatively and consider all alternatives,” said Gavitt. While WBB popularity is soaring, Gavitt acknowledges there is opportunity for the tournament, particularly in the opening rounds.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

After Caitlin Clark, Iowa’s AD Believes Women’s Basketball Can Keep Growing in Popularity
“I think it is because you have multiple stars in the game, the media attention, and if there’s been another Caitlin Clark, who has generational talent and personality and passion and fire that has captivated (the audience), we just didn’t get to see that previously,” said Iowa AD Beth Goetz. “Probably because it was before the advent of social media and all the other things. So it’s surreal, just the reach that this has had for Iowa in particular.”
^{theathletic.com}

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