Sponsors

[UofMLaxGoalie11]

I was just wondering if any teams had corporate sponsorship, whether it be a lacrosse company or otherwise.

[TrainerDan]

I know that BYU entered into a sponsorship agreement with STX this season. They have provided equipment and apparel for the team. It is a very good situation for the Cougars.

This was the press release from BYU:
"Provo, UT December 14, 2004 - Brigham Young University men's lacrosse has signed a long-term equipment sponsorship agreement with STX Lacrosse of Baltimore, MD. The agreement is identical to those of current NCAA Division I men's lacrosse teams sponsored by the company such as Navy, Loyola, Towson and UMBC. The Cougars have choosen STX's premier equipment offering for 2005, G Force by STX, for use during the 2005 spring season. The line includes gloves, armpads and integrated chest/shoulder pads."

[John Paul]

We are very fortunate to have strong relationships with Warrior, Nike and Riddell.

We've been with Warrior for 6 years now. Along with Princeton, Navy and Ohio State, we are one of the only college teams that has a direct relationship with them. They've been very good to us, and of course dealing with them is very convenient since their warehouse is only about 45 minutes away. We keep a pretty good amount of their product on hand, but if we need anything we can usually get it the same day. They've also done some custom things for us, like our gloves, that are completely unique - not based on any of their designs available as custom work publicly.

We're also lucky to be part of our athletic department's Nike package, which is the largest Nike sponsorship deal in the country. We have access to everything our varsity teams order, including shoes, practice apparel, warm-ups, coaching attire, etc. Next year, for the first time, they are making their custom uniforms available to us. Right now I believe only Syracuse, Hopkins, Ohio State, North Carolina and maybe one or two other teams have that access for lacrosse. We haven't decided if we're going to make the switch yet, but it's enticing. We pay D1 sponsored team wholesale prices for the Nike product, but the contract is about to be renegotiated, and our athletic director just told us today that he's planning on including us in the new package to outfit us for free from here on out. That would be worth $30,000 - $80,000 a year to us depending on how it's structured and if Nike begins producing lacrosse equipment as well as apparel.

We were also the first college program to sign on with Riddell for helmets, which has been a great relationship for us. They used our helmets in their ad campaign for the first year, and still use them as showpieces for their sales reps. This is our second year with them.

We've also forged some pretty good relationships with some smaller businesses and retailers, and some larger non-sports related companies, that have included significant cash sponsorship. It's an important part of our budget.

There are opportunities out there, especially at big schools, if you have the structure in place to bring some value to a company you're targeting. If they don't see a potential return in working with you, unless you have a very good personal relationship, forget it. I'm always glad to offer advice in this area if anyone wants to contact me directly.

[TrainerDan]

JP- BYU has a similar relationship with our athletic department in that we have access to the Nike apparel, warmups, etc... I noticed when you all were out here that Nike was well represented on both sidelines.

[John Paul]

Yes, Jason and I have discussed it. It's nice for the guys to have access to the same stuff the varsity guys on campus are wearing.

[the lax]

Do you have to pay for it? Discounts? Free?