Sport & Story Daily March 26, 2024

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March 26, 2024

Good morning! Football, Hoops & New Hires

The NFL’s Power Summit: Ownership, Private Equity, DEI Top Agenda
As FOS’ Daniel Kaplan writes, “Hundreds of NFL staff, team owners, executives, and head coaches, many with families in tow, descended on the swanky Ritz-Carlton in Orlando on Sunday to attend the league annual meeting for three days of business and luxury.”

On the agenda is reportedly a vote on switching principal ownership of the Texans is scheduled and a focus on international efforts as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion.
^{frontofficesports.com}

US Ad Forecast Raised to 5.6% Growth for 2024
U.S. ad industry revenue should increase a bit more this quarter and year than previously expected thanks to improved economic conditions and forecasts, Madison and Wall’s Brian Wieser said in a new report that was picked up on AdAge.com.

Wieser predicted that digital advertising will account for 76% of all advertising spending in 2028, up from 64% in 2023.
^adage.com

Coaches Confidential: How NFL Middle Management Secretly Shares Salary Information
As The Athletic’s Kalyn Kahler reports, “In college football, public university employees’ salary information is public record, but that transparency doesn’t apply to the NFL…Surveys like the one organized by the offensive line coaches, which are replicated by other position group coaches around the league, empower them with information they couldn’t get elsewhere.”

“The survey is for me to see where I rack and stack on the pay scale and then just to be able to have that information as you negotiate,” one NFL running backs coach said.
^{theathletic.com}

Ousted Cinderellas Still Cash in After March Madness Losses
Sportico’s Dylan Manfre writes, “No. 14 Oakland had the most potential to become this year’s Cinderella by upsetting No. 3 Kentucky before eventually losing to the Wolfpack. Although Oakland is out, the Michigan-based school is working to maximize business opportunities. Its star player Jack Gohlke signed NIL deals with Turbo Tax and—after his team was eliminated—Buffalo Wild Wings.”
^sportico.com

Stan Wilcox, the Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs at the NCAA, Joins Gene DeFilippo for an Episode of the On the Fly Podcast
The conversation expanded on the complexities of student-athletes potentially becoming employees and the challenges of maintaining a level playing field across different states and divisions.

As Wilcox says during the podcast, “The biggest issue is whether or not we’re going to get to a point where essentially student-athletes can be paid for their participation. Whether they can collectively bargain for the revenue share from the multi-media rights deals that are ongoing.”
^spotify.com

Arthur Blank Maintains Falcons Didn't Tamper with Kirk Cousins: 'There Was Nothing Intentional'
Per USA Today, The NFL is investigating whether the Falcons violated the league's anti-tampering policy by signing their new quarterback to a four-year, $180 million deal as the free agency market opened. Similarly, the league has also opened a probe into the Philadelphia Eagles’ signing of star running back Saquon Barkley for a potential violation before he finalized a three-year, $37.75 million contract.

“Any time the word ‘tampering’ comes up, you worry about it,” Arthur Blank told USA TODAY Sports as league owners gathered for their annual meetings.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Charles Barkley Is a Perfect Example of How Not to Make Programming Decisions
As Barrett Sports Media’s Dave Green writes, “If you are paying attention, you hardly ever hear Barkley or Smith say any names. Barkley knew a couple of the Auburn players and can typically give you the best player or two in a particular game, but it is quite obvious his knowledge of what is going on in college basketball is extremely limited to say the least.

“However, none of this is really the fault of the NBA on TNT guys. This is clearly on the managers, the decision makers who decided that since this crew is great on NBA coverage, they would also work well on NCAA Tournament coverage.”
^{barrettsportsmedia.com}

MLB Offseason Grades 2.0 : Which Teams Passed — and Which Teams Failed
As the Athletic staff notes, “We’re looking at key additions, key departures and whether teams addressed their largest needs — which we identified at the start of the offseason. In our system, there’s no room for the nuance and/or equivocation of pluses and minuses; you get a full letter grade, period. Some teams have improved their grade since last time — see the San Francisco Giants — while many others have stood pat.”

The Athletic also made their predictions for the 2024 MLB season.
^{theathletic.com}

Braves Unveil New Premium Seating at Truist Park
As SBJ’s Eric Bacharach reports, “The Braves today unveiled a new premium seating offering at Truist Park that will be available for the upcoming season. The Lexus Premium Boxes, a hospitality concept that will offer amenities for groups of eight to 14, are part of the team’s previously announced multiphase Truist Park renovations and represent a multimillion-dollar investment.”

Washington Finalizing Deal to Hire Danny Sprinkle as New Head Coach, AP Source Says
Washington is finalizing a deal to hire Utah State's Danny Sprinkle as its next men's basketball coach, a person with knowledge of the deal told The AP on Monday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school has not announced the hiring.

As Yahoo!’s Tim Booth writes, “The Huskies are hoping Sprinkle's success at smaller schools and lineage to the university can revitalize the program as it moves into the Big Ten starting next season. His expected hiring comes one day after Utah State was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament with a second-round loss to Purdue.”
^yahoo.com

Pepperdine University Appoints Tanner Gardner as Director of Athletics
Pepperdine University has appointed Tanner Gardner to serve as the director of athletics of the Waves athletics program. Gardner most recently served at Rice University as the deputy athletic director for external affairs. He will assume his role on June 1, 2024.
^{pepperdine.edu}

Boston College’s JM Caparro is Rumored to Be American University’s New AD
ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweeted, “Sources: American University is targeting Boston College deputy athletic director JM Caparro as the school’s new athletic director. He’s worked for the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA league office and is a former Lehigh football athlete.”
^twitter.com

Valparaiso’s Director of Athletic Reportedly Steps Down
Paul Oren tweeted, “Breaking News - Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla announces that Director of Athletics Charles Small has decided to step down ‘to pursue new opportunities for him and his family.’ Laurel Hosmer will serve as Valparaiso's interim athletic director. Bombshell.”
^twitter.com

James Madison’s Record $53M in Student Fees Tops All Public Schools
Per Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams, “The James Madison athletic department spent $68 million on athletics in fiscal 2023 and reported funding $53.3 million of it via mandatory student fees, charged annually to every JMU student as part of their tuition. It’s by far the largest sum of any public school in the country, $23 million more than Old Dominion’s student fee subsidy.”
^sportico.com

This Lawyer is taking On Dartmouth to Fight For College Athletes
Sportico’s Michael McCann reports: “Krupski is the attorney for the 15 Dartmouth College men’s basketball players, who on March 5 became the first unionized college athletes in history. The players are represented by the Service Employees International Union, Local 560. Krupski has thus far defeated an Ivy League college with an endowment of $8 billion and the backing of the NCAA and other powerful interests.”
^sportico.com

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