Wyoming, Cal Poly, and Montana State are just a few examples of the colleges that come to mind when thinking about how to make the most of school sports, such as Learfield, which announced the release of an professional dance division in June.
Rodeo is the company’s first real venture into the corridors of club sports, aside from a passing stab the business took at the boom-and-bust esport craze ( Learfield launched Level Next, a competition series for undergraduate gamers, which appeared to be wiped out by the end of 2022 ).
Nevertheless, the news last summer got little notice at the time, which occurred as Learfield was trying to wrap up a” comprehensive deleveraging transaction” that would clear$ 600 million of debt. Its vulnerable financial position was owed to a number of bad bet the business had made, which was made worse by the epidemic, on the company’s certain quarterly results that it could rely on from its discounts for multimedia rights.

Learfield has recently reneged on several of those contracts while looking for opportunities in college sports with lower risk that will pay off in the long run. And so does the media rights company’s most recent experimentation with cowboys tradition.
According to Brad Poe, vice president and general director of Learfield College Rodeo,” Rodeo is as well-liked as possibly,” citing new streaming triumphs of TV shows Montana and 1883. ” There is a romance to this space ( and a ) lot of elements, culturally, that have increased the popularity of the sport. Our conclusion is driven in a few methods: One is to increase upon and be supportive of our companion corporations, serving our donors and schools. We have those relationships, we have all that in place, we have resources at Learfield—a expert sales team—to enhance the game and increase profits while providing final experience”.
With the intention of wrangling another eight to ten schools by the end of the year, Learfield has so far signed rodeo-specific sales representation agreements with 10 of its existing school partners, in addition to one region. ( Poe stated that the goal is” and then we’ll see what the landscape looks like” and that 40 teams are the target group ).
The majority of the deals are structured as their own distinct contracts, or as an addition to the existing Learfield multimedia rights agreement, as in the case of institutions like Montana State.
The financial terms, in this early going, are quite modest: Learfield, for example, is paying an annual fee next year of$ 35, 000 to Montana State plus half of any sales in excess of$ 70, 000 ( less agency commissions and out- of- pocket expenses ). Similar financial terms were included in a Learfield College Rodeo contract with Idaho State, but Learfield declined to comment on whether this was true across the board.
Given the expense of the sport—the animals, entry fees, the horse trailers—any bit helps.
Rodeo is a college sport that is not governed by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, a body that dates back to the end of World War II. NIRA oversees about 125 schools, the majority of which are housed in their respective colleges ‘ college of agriculture or campus recreation centers.

The college runs the College National Finals Rodeo ( CNFR ) in Casper, Wyoming, each year, with the most recent run going from June 9 to June 15. Last fiscal year, about a half of NIRA’s$ 1.96 million in annual revenue came through either sponsorships or CNFR proceeds.
Montana State is one of the few programs that is managed by an athletic department. In the fiscal year, the team brought in$ 965, 092 of revenue, while spending a little bit more,$ 968, 262.
Although there are rodeo programs affiliated with NIRA at major athletic powers like Texas A&amp and M, elite teams typically exist in lower college athletic departments. Treasure Valley Community College, a two- year institution based in Oregon, currently sits atop NIRA’s national men’s team standings, followed by Montana State.
For the individual programs, Learfield’s interest in the sport is widely welcomed. However, its larger, more extensive goals have stung the sanctioning body.
” I’m really happy that they are there to support the individual schools, and that’s what we wanted them to do,” said NIRA commissioner Jim Dewey Brown. ” These rodeo teams might be struggling to get exposure, just with administrations, so this takes them more into that mainstream within their school, and I really like that”.
As for NIRA’s interest in collaborating with Learfield on national sales, Brown expressed much less enthusiasm.
” That is not what the national office is about”, said Brown. ” When we reach out to a national sponsor—a potential one, or even our old ones—they are like family to us. It is not just another company that pays us money to advertise. We do n’t want to lose our partners ‘ long-standing relationships, which we have with them for a long time and are beyond devoted to them.
Speaking from Learfield’s perspective, Poe told Sportico:” We would love, as we continue to grow in this space, to be able to align with them somehow”.
Learfield is also currently preparing to hold its own championship competition that will be open to school partners only, Poe goes on to say that it is” 100 % intended to complement the]College National ] Finals Rodeo.” This is not intended to compete with or overtake it.
Then there’s television.
The College National Finals Rodeo was broadcast on ABC and NBC before national TV audiences back in the 1960s. The event has recently been broadcast live on ESPN3, via the ESPN app, and two edited ESPNU finals programs will be available later this summer. Brown claimed that NIRA last month revised its ESPN deal for another three years.
Learfield, meanwhile, sees potential here as well.
” We do see a path where we would like to]create a] broadcast entity to deliver that to school partners”, said Poe. ” When we talk about elevating]rodeo], it is about bringing more exposure, bringing brands and broadcasting them, streaming them and working with]existing ] media”.