- TV networks and universities aren't the only institutions cashing in on the 12-team CFP, as NIL collectives are raising funds off the success schools such as Arizona State and Indiana, as detailed in this week's magazine.
- Among the top 20 telecasts of 2024, 17 college events made the list, including the Caitlin Clark-fueled women’s NCAA basketball championship making the top 100 for the first time, reports my SBJ colleague Austin Karp. That’s down from 27 college events in the top 200 in 2023. The leading college telecast was the CFP semifinal (Rose Bowl) last season between Michigan and Alabama, placing 22nd with 27.69 million viewers on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU.
- Learfield agreed to a multiyear renewal of its multimedia deal with Mississippi State. It's worked with MSU for 16 years, and the deal also includes a renewal with Sidearm Sports (the provider of the university's website, mobile app and streaming platform).
- This season’s CFP semifinals, the first with individual prime-time windows scheduled far away from the New Year’s Eve/Day holiday, averaged 19.2 million viewers, the lowest for the semis since the 2021 season, when the doubleheader aired on New Year’s Eve (16.9 million), writes Karp.
- NOCAP Sports hired former Oncoor Marketing President Russell White as its newly created general manager, NIL solutions.
- The 2024-25 bowl season is projected to generate approximately 1.5 million fans, down more than 11% from what the games drew annually 2006-19, according to SBJ research guru David Broughton's analysis of attendance data.
- Michigan State issued an RFP on Jan. 3 for food and beverage management services for its intercollegiate athletic facilities, writes my SBJ colleague Bret McCormick. The university's in-house service has run concessions at venues such as Spartan Stadium and Breslin Center for decades.
- The Texas beach volleyball program is the first to join a new initiative from NIL company Booster that enables fans to donate money directly to entire athletic teams, notes my SBJ colleague Irving Mejia-Hilario.
