University of North Carolina Athletics
Q&A: Baddour Addresses Permanent Signage
March 10, 2004 | General
March 10, 2004
The University of North Carolina has been one of the lone holdouts in college sports when it comes to permanent advertising signage. For years, permanent signage has been prohibited in the Smith Center and Kenan Stadium. Late last year, the Board of Trustees directed a task force look into the ramifications of adding signage in those two venues. Athletic director Dick addour sat down with Tar Heel Monthly to talk about the issue.
Tar Heel Monthly: Why is the University exploring this option at this time?
Dick Baddour: We're evaluating signage due to the tremendous stress that exists on the scholarship budget. This year, for the first time ever, the Rams Club can not fully fund the scholarship program through annual giving. The athletic department is committing operating funds to meet that obligation, which may run into several hundred thousand dollars. Last fall, the Board of Trustees asked the athletic department to evaluate all revenue streams that may improve its overall financial picture. In particular, we were asked to evaluate the impact of signage in the Smith Center and Kenan Stadium. The Trustees asked what process would be used to make those evaluations. I said we had looked at signage in an informal way, but had not tested the market or had serious conversations with any internal or external constituents. Our culture had never allowed us to look in that direction. I suggested we form a task force that would draw on representatives from many campus perspectives. The chancellor and Stick Williams, the chairman of the board, subsequently appointed the task force. That's how we got to where we are today.
THM: And where are we today?
DB: The task force includes representatives of the trustees, Educational Foundation, faculty, staff, students, Alumni Association and athletic department. We have met twice and had a good exchange of ideas. The meetings are open to the media. I feel strongly that if we are to change our philosophy regarding signage, it needs to be done in a public process. We have developed a long-standing culture in these two facilities. This is an important topic for many of our supporters. This committee is looking at how much new revenue would be generated and what the financial impact would be on the budget. However, the committee is also evaluating the athletic department's needs. The committee will then recommend a course of action to the chancellor and the Board of Trustees.
THM: Is there a timeline for that recommendation?
DB: I expect we will have finished the evaluation by the middle of this summer.
THM: You've mentioned the needs of the department. What are those?
DB: The greatest need is in the scholarship program. People who follow what's happening at the University of North Carolina know about the on-going debate regarding rising tuition costs. Every time tuition is raised, scholarship costs are raised. It's been seven years since we added scholarships and those were to meet Title IX guidelines. However, the cost of education has risen significantly over that same time frame. The scholarship budget has increased by at least $2.5 million over the last five years.
We are committed to a broad-based program, but it?s difficult to meet the increasing costs of higher education. If the proposed tuition increases are passed, the athletic scholarship costs will increase by $300,000. We don?t want to eliminate scholarship opportunities, which some people have suggested we do, and there are federally-mandated Title IX issues that must be met.
We also have financial needs in coaching salaries and facility maintenance. Most of our head coaches rank in the bottom third in the ACC in salary and operating budgets. The lifeblood of any program is the quality of its student-athletes and coaches.
Thanks to the Rams Club and its members, Carolina has some of the best facilities in the country. It seems we have had one major construction project ongoing for the last 20 years. However, there are critical needs for improvements at Carmichael Auditorium and Boshamer Stadium, we must complete the softball complex, and make necessary upgrades at Kenan Stadium and the Smith Center.
It's great to build new facilities, but there are daily costs involved in running new facilities and improving older venues that put a major strain on our operating budget. We need to look at finding new revenue sources to prevent those strains from becoming evident from a competitive standpoint.
THM: Has the committee seen any specific advertising examples as far as locations or methods that interested them?
DB: We have seen examples of what other schools do across the country. We've tried to place a value on the signage opportunities that would be available to us based on what other schools have received. However, it's more complicated than that because most signage is bundled with advertising on radio broadcasts, coaches' shows, game programs, Internet sites and things like that. It's difficult to know exactly what value a sign has. We think we're getting a handle on what kind of revenue would be out there, but we won't know for certain until we go out into the marketplace and ask.
efore we get to that point, however, we will get feedback from the groups that are represented on the committee and anyone else who wants to weigh in on the issue. I feel it's that important to our supporters to allow everyone an opportunity to discuss this.
THM: Do you have a ballpark idea of how much money the department might be able to generate?
DB: I don't think we know that yet. We have not even decided to go in this direction. We do know that some schools are generating as much as $1.5 million to $2 million. Even if we decided to do this, we don't know at this time if North Carolina would ever generate that much revenue. We already have corporate sponsorship involvement through various means, so we have to evaluate how adding signs in Kenan Stadium and Smith Center would impact our existing sponsor packages. I do know that if we include signage it would be done with taste and in a limited way.
THM: Are there any other schools that don't allow advertising in major sports venues?
DB: Just a few. The typical approach is to accept the advertising. Every other school in the ACC and almost every other institution on the national level have arena signage.
THM: Would allowing permanent signage create a trade-off where less in-game advertising would be used?
DB: We're not doing much of that right now. In basketball, we?re doing one promotional event per half and another one at halftime. We've limited them to fun things associated with the game. These generate revenue that provided the video board for Kenan Stadium. But not having those is a tradeoff the committee could discuss.
THM: In your opinion, does allowing permanent advertising have any impact on the game atmosphere that fans experience?
DB: I think most fans are accustomed to this. It would be a notable change at first, but I think most people would continue to focus on the game, which is why everyone is there in the first place. The electronic signage we started with the video screens allowed us to fund the video board in Kenan Stadium without having to use athletic department dollars. There's no doubt the video board was a positive addition to Kenan Stadium. I don't think permanent signage takes the crowd out of the game or detracts from the overall experience. On the other hand, I've been to arenas and football stadiums where the sponsor messages during timeouts are repetitive and do take the crowd out of the game. We must be very careful not to do that.
THM: You've mentioned the culture of Carolina a couple times. Would an effort be made to ensure that permanent signage respects that culture?
DB: Absolutely. We would do it in the least intrusive method possible and we would spend a lot of time looking at the right ways to display signage. We would only want to be associated with particular sponsors.
THM: If you decide to go in this direction, would it happen before next sports season?
DB: I don?t know if it could happen that soon. You'd have to give the sales professionals time to sell it. I wouldn't expect it for the 2004 football season, but I couldn't rule that out. But I can't stress enough that no one has yet made the decision. We don't want to rush the process. If we make this change, we want to know all the answers ahead of time.
