The University of California, Berkeley, in the US has signed a multimedia rights deal with the Learfield Sports agency, in a move that will end an existing relationship with the IMG College division of the IMG agency.
The 10-year agreement will run from 2017-18 until the 2026-27 college athletic season.
Learfield is not due to take over the rights contract from IMG College until next year, although the Bizjournals.com website said that the university is making arrangements for the agency to take control at an earlier date. The website also said that the deal is worth $100m (€89m) in cash and promotion.
The partnership encompasses marketing and sponsor partnerships related to major athletics programmes, in addition to external marketing investments and exposure to help promote the university’s athletics programme.
Learfield will also work with the university to develop new social media channels to support marketing and sponsorship efforts.
In addition, Learfield will appoint an executive director to head up an on-campus team at the university.