Oakland, CA (PRWEB) May 1, 2004
After negotiating the historic partnership, New Vision Sports Properties announced today that the Historically Black Conferences and Russell Corporation have formed an exclusive agreement that will serve as the basis for a first-of-its-kind licensing alliance for the conferences.
Beginning with this fallÂÂs football season, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) will grant a five-year exclusive license to Russell to manufacture and sell the merchandise of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) comprising the conferences. As part of the agreement, Russell will provide the conferences with royalties on the sales of apparel licensed through the institutions. Russell will also supply the schools with some uniforms, performance and casual apparel, and athletic equipment at no cost, whereas in the past the HBCU schools purchased all of their own products.
ÂÂNew Vision Sports has created an opportunity for the conferences to leverage our visibility in a way that will greatly improve our athletic programs,ÂÂ says SWAC Commissioner Robert Vowels. ÂÂThe SWAC is proud to be involved in such a historic partnership.ÂÂ
Athletic programs from the three conferences included in the agreement are menÂÂs and womenÂÂs basketball and soccer, football, baseball, softball and volleyball.
ÂÂThese agreements expand our opportunities beyond the team uniform business,ÂÂ said Jon Letzler, Russell Corporation president and COO. ÂÂBy including our Russell Athletic, JERZEES, Moving Comfort, Bike and Spalding brands, we will have increased brand awareness and sales opportunities from the playing fields to the college bookstores. In addition to the business opportunities for Russell brands, the colleges and universities will have the best apparel and equipment based on our more than 100 years of experience. This is a true win-win situation.ÂÂ
ÂÂThis unprecedented association we have formed with Russell marks a major step forward for our sports programs,ÂÂ says SIAC Commissioner Dr. William Lide. ÂÂSignificant new dollars will reach our athletic programs through this agreement. This allows us to take more control over what products we present to consumers. It also opens new doors for Russell and its products.ÂÂ
The SIAC and SWAC are comprised of 21 institutions of higher learning that have been in existence for over 100 years, producing some of the sporting world’s most famous athletes, including legendary names like Deacon Jones, Edwin Moses, Walter Payton, Lou Brock, Shannon Sharpe and Willis Reed among others.
New Vision Sports Properties of Oakland, California is a full service sports marketing company that specializes in selling, executing and servicing major corporate sponsorships. In it’s first year of representing the SWAC, MEAC and SIAC as a group, New Vision has aggressively implemented a multi-faceted sports marketing program that has generated huge dividends for the universities in the form of a newly created and extensive television deal and a new merchandise/retail program. As part of its newly created corporate partnerships for the conferences, New Vision has produced relationships with three Fortune 500 companies.
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CONTACT:
Ron Rogers,
Shennum Green Public Relations
(925) 461-6275
ron.rogers@shennumgreen.com
