In the sports and entertainment industry, contracts are the backbone of every partnership that we form: employment, concessions, games, and vendors. All of these examples can be linked to a single event like a football game.
- If you were the head coach and athletic director for Bussell University, a Division I school located in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, what schools would you look to negotiate with for a guarantee game contract for a specific sport? Would you include any bonus for the coach? Why or why not?
Hint: Look to top schools within a 350-mile radius that would allow the team (Bussell) to secure the best financial payout. Sometimes this isn’t the most money, but the most benefit (win). Obviously, this being Tennessee, it would make sense to look at some lower-tier DI schools:
Austin Peay State
ETSU
MTSU
UT-Chattanooga
Tennessee State
Tennessee Tech
- Develop a spreadsheet that outlines how you would distribute the monies earned from the guarantee among the six men’s and eight women’s teams in your athletic department.
- How would you “sell” this cupcake game to your president, your board, your alumni, and your fans? Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of scheduling such a game.
- Finally, assume you have been guaranteed $1 million to play a game and the force majeure clause is enforced because of a hurricane. Do you attempt to schedule a new game or just play 11 games that season? How do you recoup those anticipated funds?