Sport & Story Daily April 2, 2024

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April 2, 2024

Good morning! March Madness $ Winner? The ACC

ACC to Earn the Most of Any Conference From March Madness
Despite only five of its teams receiving 2024 March Madness bids, the ACC will earn roughly $34 million from its success in this year’s men’s basketball tournament, more than any other conference.  

Instead of giving that money directly to the schools, the governing body pays it out to the conferences using a system called “units.” Every conference earns one “unit” for each tournament game its teams play prior to the final. This year, the ACC earned 17 units for the 17 games that its teams will play prior to the final. Based on NCAA revenue projections, Sportico calculates that each unit will be worth approximately $2 million, for a total of $34 million. 
^sportico.com

With Limitless Will and Immeasurable Confidence and Perseverance, Jason Robins Leads DraftKings Through Chaotic Storms to Ultimate Success
As SBJ’s Benjamin Knight writes, “Though the company has grown to $3.6 billion in annual revenue and a $20 billion market cap, Robins remains the stat-crazed math nerd who grew up devouring box scores at the breakfast table and making it to every University of Miami home football game with his father, an economics professor at the school, and his mother, a schoolteacher.”
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

AI in Advertising—Production Companies Weigh the Opportunity and the Threat
Ad Age’s Tim Nudd writes, "“This is the familiar promise of AI: It’s both an opportunity and a threat. It presents other dilemmas, too. In terms of the threat, many in production want guardrails put in place to protect their work-for-hire creators before it’s too late—even though, paradoxically, it’s too early to know where AI is headed. In terms of the opportunity, it’s hard to know how to experiment with AI in ethical ways that protect those human creators…”
^adage.com

Director of Athletics at the URI Thorr Bjorn Discusses the NIL Landscape and More on Recent On the Fly Podcast Episode
In this episode of On the Fly, Thorr Bjorn, the Director of Athletics at the University of Rhode Island, joins host Gene DeFilippo to reflect on his 16+ year tenure at the URI and the key to his longevity. Among other things, the two discuss the evolving landscape of NIL, the history and traditions of basketball in the Atlantic 10 conference, and the significant investment in facilities improvements at URI.
^spotify.com

Elevate buys Fenway Sports' Consulting Group
Per SBJ, Elevate officially announced that it has acquired Fenway Sports Management’s Consulting Group for an undisclosed price. Elevate acquires Fenway’s book of business and nine Fenway people will join Elevate, working out of a new Elevate office in Boston. Elevate’s brand client roster, which already included Procter & Gamble -- including Crest, Dawn and Old Spice -- Duracell, UKG, and Globant, adds Fenway clients like Moderna, Santander Bank, Wasabi Technologies and Monster.com. 
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

L.A. Times Edits Column on Mulkey After Backlash
It’s fairly rare that a large media outlet will walk back info in an article, but The L.A. Times did just that. They "edited a column" it published last week about the LSU women’s basketball team ahead of its game against UCLA following criticism from LSU coach Kim Mulkey, who "blasted it as sexist and hurtful." Mulkey defended her players after they were referred to as "villains" and "dirty debutantes" in a piece first published Friday that likened the Sweet 16 game between LSU and UCLA as "a battle of good versus evil."

The Times republished the column with a note that said: "A previous version of this commentary did not meet Times editorial standards. It has been updated."
^{sportsbusinssjournal.com}

Sports Illustrated Owner Sues Former Publisher For $48.75M
Sports Illustrated owner Authentic Brands Group filed a lawsuit against previous publisher The Arena Group, demanding nearly $50 million for what it says are a missed licensing payment and a $45 million termination fee.

As Sportico reports, the 51-page complaint spells out 14 claims of wrongdoing, including breach of contract, tortious interference, trademark infringement, and patent infringement. 
^sportico.com

Arizona Legislation Could Help Coyotes Arena Financing, Bring Top-Level Soccer to Phoenix Area
As SBJ’s Alex Silverman reports, “A former Coyotes executive is endorsing state legislation that he hopes will help a group unconnected to the team build a mixed-use development near Mesa that could include a professional soccer stadium. If passed, the bill could also help his former employer finance a mixed-use development in Phoenix by cutting the city out of the process.”
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Ted Leonsis on a Big Decision, Big Plans, and … Better Toilets
As FOS’ Eric Fisher notes, “One of the biggest stories of the year so far in the business of sports is the dramatic reversal by Monumental Sports & Entertainment chair Ted Leonsis, who’s abandoning his planned $2 billion arena and mixed-used development in Virginia to remain in D.C. and at Capital One Arena.

“Leonsis joined the Front Office Sports Today podcast and broke down not only how the venue turnabout happened, but also what he sees happening across regional sports media, his own baseball ownership aspirations, and the advance of sovereign wealth funds in pro sports.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

I’m Rooting Hard for Jason Puckett
A feel-good media firing story? Yup. As BSM’s Dave Greene writes, “A few hours after receiving his agreement, Puckett was told his partner, Jim Moore, had been laid off in yet another round of iHeartMedia layoffs. ‘A corporate decision,’ it was said. In the end, iHeartMedia had played games with the wrong person…he was going to have trouble sleeping at night with the thought that even one person might think he got his new deal on the back of his partner getting fired. So, he walked.

“Puckett launched a new website, PuckSports.com, and he made the decision he would go out on his own. Do his own thing. Reading between the lines, Jim Moore will join him for some part of it, but sounds like he might have to wait a bit.”
^{barrettsportsmedia.com}

Purdue Powers Past Tennessee to Advance to First Final Four Since 1980; Zach Edey Scores 40 Points
This one should have been in Arizona, but that’s how it goes sometimes — a team the quality of a No. 1 seed falters a bit late and falls to a No. 2, and that team finds its path to a Final Four much more difficult as a result.

The Tennessee Volunteers can rue that along with many missed opportunities in Sunday’s Elite Eight classic and a 72-66 loss to Midwest Region No. 1 seed Purdue at Little Caesar’s Arena. The Purdue Boilermakers can celebrate history.
^{theathletic.com}

SDSU Basketball’s NIL Collective Has More Money, But Is It Enough?
Via D1 Ticker: The San Diego State-focused MESA Foundation tells the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Mark Zeigler it had a $700K NIL budget for the Aztecs Men’s Basketball program this season. MESA Foundation co-founder Jeff Smith indicates the kitty will be closer to $1M for the 2024-25 campaign, though there are fundraising plans in place to pus_{h the b}udget to $1.3M - $1.5M.
^{D1 Ticker via sandiegouniontribune.com}

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