UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — It was a highly successful 2017 for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, extending to Penn State Sports Properties, which has been awarded Learfield’s National Property of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Penn State Sports Properties, Learfield’s local management team for the multimedia and sponsorship rights at Penn State Athletics, was awarded Property of the Year among institutions in Tier 5 (highest tier) at the company’s annual awards show, the CLYDES, recently held in Dallas, Texas.
The CLYDES, named after Learfield founder Clyde Lear, honor top performances across multiple categories for the past sales year. The Property of the Year Award is one of the most important awards of the year and went to different Learfield on-campus teams across five revenue divisions, with Penn State Sports Properties (PSSP) selected as the winner in the largest category based on annual sponsorship revenue dollars.
“PSSP/Learfield has been a tremendous partner for Intercollegiate Athletics dating back to 2005,” said Tom McGrath, associate athletic director for business relations. “Penn State Sports Properties has had tremendous success in growing our partnership base and aligning Penn State Athletics with many successful and powerful brands both inside and outside of Pennsylvania. The resources available through this relationship provide strong opportunities for our 800 student-athletes competing in 31 sports as they pursue their education and prepare for a lifetime of impact. Doug (Nelson) and his team are great teammates and we are so pleased for them to receive this important recognition for the second consecutive year.”
“We are honored to again be recognized amongst our peers across the country as the Property of the Year for the second consecutive year,” said Doug Nelson, Penn State Sports Properties vice president and general manager. “Our corporate partners that drive support for our great program and for our outstanding student-athletes need to be thanked as part of this recognition. They are part of the Penn State Athletics family, and without them we can’t do what we need to do as a department. Overall, this Penn State Athletics team is a very special one and we are all extremely proud to be part of it.”
As Penn State Athletics’ exclusive multimedia rights holder, PSSP manages all aspects of the rights relationship, providing corporate partners both traditional and new media opportunities with the university in which to bolster their own brand and garner maximum exposure through such inventory as intellectual property and logo usage; venue signage; event sponsorships and promotion; corporate hospitality; radio and television; digital engagement and visibility via the official athletics website GoPSUsports.com.
Learfield manages rights for nearly 130 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas nationwide and has been an industry leader for more than four decades. The Penn State award is a noteworthy win for the team, while Nelson was also among three nominees for Coach (Manager) of the Year for the second consecutive year and Daniel Solomon was the winner recognizing outstanding partnership growth efforts.
Vice President & General Manager Nelson leads Learfield’s PSSP operation. Other team members include: Charles Nieves - director of business development; Tim Bordner – associate general manager; Matt Craig – manager of business development; Daniel Solomon – manager of business development; Jason Frandi – manager of business development; Jeff Tarman – director of broadcast operations, Sarah Lynch – manager of partnership services, and Kayla Weaver and Madeline Myford, who are coordinators of partnership services.
Penn State has one of the nation’s most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, sponsoring 31 intercollegiate varsity programs (16 men’s and 15 women’s), with approximately 800 student-athletes. Penn State student-athletes earned a school record-tying Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 90 percent in the 2017 NCAA Graduation Rate Report, continuing a rate well above their peers nationwide. The Nittany Lions rank No. 4 among all Division I schools with 200 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time.
The Nittany Lions' 49 NCAA Championships all-time (77 national championships overall) rank No. 5 among all NCAA Division I programs and are the highest total of any college or university east of the Mississippi River. Penn State's 30 NCAA titles since 1992-93 leads all Big Ten Conference institutions. The Nittany Lions have won 107 Big Ten Championships since capturing their first crown in 1992-93, including seven in 2016-17, and three thus far in 2017-18.