The University of Arkansas at Little Rock athletic department said Wednesday that it has entered into a 10-year multimedia agreement with Learfield Sports of Plano, Texas.
UALR said the deal, through which UALR will outsource multimedia rights and sponsorship initiatives, is the first such agreement in the university’s history. It begins with the 2017-2018 athletics season.
The value of the contract wasn’t immediately available.
“We are excited about our partnership with Learfield and our staff looks forward to working with their team to advance Little Rock Athletics,” UALR Director of Athletics Chasse Conque said in a news release. “Learfield will allow Trojan Athletics to expand our already strong corporate sponsorship program. We are most appreciative of the local corporate support of Little Rock’s Team, which accounts for a significant part of our external revenue.”
Conque said the department is already working with Learfield, which is vetting personnel for “Little Rock Trojan Sports Properties.” He said the local team will represent the Trojans and manage the rights agreement, which includes signage, digital, corporate sponsorships, television and radio play-by-play, and coaches’ shows.
UALR said it already has deals with two Learfield affiliates, Learfield Licensing Partners and Sidearm Sports, which handles the athletic department’s official website.
The deal means Learfield Sports now represents eight Sun Belt Conference members: Arkansas State University, Georgia Southern University, University of Idaho, University of Louisiana Monroe, New Mexico State University, University of Texas at Arlington, and Texas State University.
Learfield Sports is part of Learfield Communications Inc. of Jefferson City, Missouri.