Drake, ISP Announce Partnership
09.22.08
The Drake University Athletic Department has reached an agreement with ISP Sports, the country’s foremost collegiate sports marketing company, to serve as the exclusive multi-media marketer for the Bulldogs, school officials have announced.
With the partnership, which officially began earlier this month, ISP will market a variety of corporate sponsorship opportunities involving Drake sports, including live play-by-play game radio broadcasts, football and basketball game programs, signage in on-campus facilities, corporate hospitality events and the Drake Relays. The company will also serve as a sales representative for GoDrakeBulldogs.com, the official athletic department website.
“Drake University’s foundation for a winning legacy grows stronger today as we announce our partnership with the leading sports marketing firm in the country,” said Drake athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb.
“It is ISP’s demonstrated integrity, commitment to excellence, and position in the collegiate sports marketing industry that initially attracted us. However, it is their strong personal relationship orientation that closed the deal. I am personally excited about the opportunity to work with Ben Sutton and his talented team.”
Based in Winston-Salem, NC, ISP is the sales and marketing partner for more than 60 universities, conferences, bowl games and venues across the country. “We are delighted to be working with Sandy and her staff, and to have the opportunity to help build a national marketing presence for Drake Athletics,” Sutton, Chairman and CEO of ISP, said. “We look forward to a relationship that will be strong now and grow even stronger in the years to come.”
Heading up ISP’s corporate sponsorship and sales effort as general manager of the Drake Sports Network will be Rick Rungaitis. A Drake alum, Rungaitis has spent the past 10 years in corporate sales with the Schaumburg (IL) Flyers, a successful independent minor league baseball organization in suburban Chicago. He also previously served as assistant general manager for the Iowa Cubs, a Triple-A franchise in Des Moines.