The new agreement is for 10 years through the 2032-33 season

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University Department of Athletics has extended its multimedia rights relationship with LEARFIELD, the school announced Thursday, Jan. 26.

LEARFIELD has represented Eastern Michigan since 2014 when the school first signed with IMG prior to the companies’ merger four years later. The new multimedia rights agreement is for 10 years. Locally based Eastern Michigan Sports Properties will continue to work alongside EMU Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbeeand the EMU Athletics External team to fully integrate the university’s multimedia rights and relationships with local, regional, and national brands into Eastern Michigan’s strategic vision for the next decade.

“We thank the entire LEARFIELD leadership team, as well as our local property teammates, for their continued partnership with Eastern Michigan Athletics,” said Wetherbee. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with LEARFIELD throughout my career, and they are a well-known industry leader. Their work over the past nine years has played a significant role in enhancing the Eastern Michigan Athletics brand across the landscape of intercollegiate athletics.”

“The strong relationships with local and national brands fostered by the Eastern Michigan Sports Properties team have been instrumental for our success, and we look forward to continuing to build on these relationships in pursuit of building champions in the classroom, the community, and in competition,” added Wetherbee. “Also, I want to express our appreciation to LEONA for serving as a trusted advisor to our athletics department throughout these discussions. Their expertise and thorough process was critical to us ultimately extending our partnership with LEARFIELD.”

EMU’s relationship with LEARFIELD extends beyond multimedia rights representation. The university also works with LEARFIELD by way of CLC (licensing), Paciolan (ticketing), and SIDEARM Sports (official website/mobile app).

“We’ve had the privilege of working with Scott for a number of years prior to him leading EMU Athletics, and, undoubtedly, the Eagles have been doing tremendous things we’ve been fortunate to be a part of,” said LEARFIELD Executive Vice President, University Partnership Group Mike Hamilton. “It is an honor for LEARFIELD to continue this great relationship, working alongside the Eagles, Scott and his team on new innovations, elevated fan engagement, and cultivating even deeper sponsor connections.”

LEARFIELD is a media, data, and technology services leader in intercollegiate athletics. The company unlocks the value of college sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform with innovative content and commerce solutions. LEARFIELD services include licensing and collegiate sports properties’ multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and social media; data analytics and insights; ticketing software; and ticket sales, premium seating, and fundraising services; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for NACDA’s acclaimed LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup, recognizing athletic departments across all divisions.

About Eastern Michigan University Athletics
Eastern Michigan University has been a member of the Mid-American Conference since 1971 and has been among the league’s most successful members. The Division I program boasts 155 MAC team championships, the most of any team in the league during that span. Eastern Michigan, which has had a representative at every summer Olympics since 1960, has won 15 team national championships and 55 individual national titles since 1932.

About Eastern Michigan University
Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 14,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University’s Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and its graduate school. National publications regularly recognize EMU for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit emich.edu.