MSU Bulldog Sports Properties to Generate Revenue through Elevated Sponsorships Powered by Data, Digital, NIL and Corporate Partnership Solutions
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State Athletics and Learfield announced today the renewal of their 16-year relationship with a long-term agreement for Learfield to continue as the exclusive rights holder managing all multimedia and sponsorship agreements on behalf of the Bulldogs.
In the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, MSU Bulldogs Sports Properties (BSP) – the locally based team of Learfield – has facilitated numerous new and expanded relationships across Mississippi State’s portfolio of brand partners, creating new opportunities for the athletic department, brand partners, and student-athletes through integrated data, digital, NIL and national sponsorship sales solutions.
“Learfield is a long-time trusted partner of Mississippi State,” MSU Director of Athletics Zac Selmon said. “We are excited for this opportunity to extend our relationship and grow our collaboration with them. This new agreement is integral to Mississippi State Athletics’ success as we continue elevating our revenue generation, sponsorship opportunities, content and storytelling, NIL activations for student-athletes and fan experience in the new, ever-evolving world of college athletics.”
By aligning with Learfield’s flagship multimedia rights division, digital solutions leader SIDEARM Sports, digital ticketing and marketing platform provider Paciolan, and ticket sales and development arm Learfield Amplify, Mississippi State Athletics maximizes opportunities for revenue growth through access to fan data from Learfield’s Fanbase infrastructure, the largest fan data platform in college athletics.
“From my first interactions with Zac – dating back years ago, and now as he leads the organization at Mississippi State – I’ve been so impressed by his creativity and tenacity, which are needed more than ever in college athletics,” said Cole Gahagan, President and CEO of Learfield. “We’re beyond fortunate to now extend our partnership with Zac and his team, pairing those extraordinary characteristics with our unique leadership around fan data management, NIL opportunities, global sales, and revenue optimization. The future is bright in Starkville!”
Learfield’s power to leverage data in partnerships is illustrated by MSU’s new strategic partnership with the Mississippi Department of Health (MSDH), which includes Fan365 – Learfield’s programmatic digital sponsorship and marketing program – to utilize extensive digital assets across several Connected TV devices and apps to reach targeted segments of Bulldog fans. Across all digital platforms, MSDH has received more than 2.75 million additional impressions in 2024 through its partnership with MSU Bulldog Sports Properties, which layers on top of Fanbase data.
Learfield’s Social+ service creates social content and delivers sponsors unique opportunities to engage fans organically. The “Tastes of the Lounge” series, which featured the unmatched tailgating atmosphere at Dudy Noble Field, integrated brand partner Country Pleasin’ utilized to garner over 300,000 organic impressions and 160,000 video views in a brand awareness campaign coinciding with the smoked sausage producer’s rapid growth into new markets and nationwide grocery chains.
With a growing demand for student-athlete Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) activation, MSU BSP is connecting its portfolio of brand partners to unlock NIL opportunities department-wide for the Bulldogs. One such example is Mississippi State’s long-standing relationship with Columbus Orthopaedics, which now includes NIL activation opportunities for several student-athletes from men’s basketball to appear in social media and in-venue advertisements on behalf of the official team physicians of Mississippi State Athletics.
Through MSU BSP’s Learfield Amplify team Mississippi State achieved a season ticket sellout for men’s basketball in 2024-25, surpassing the mark for most season tickets sold since 2011-12 and reaching a new high for renewal rate at 92%. For the 2024-25 women’s basketball season, the Bulldogs also experienced a sellout of all lower-level inventory inside Humphrey Coliseum.
The renewed partnership between Learfield and Mississippi State allows MSU Bulldog Sports Properties to unlock several new premium assets such as on-field and on-court logos at Davis Wade Stadium and Humphrey Coliseum.
The new agreement also includes an extension with SIDEARM, a division of Learfield and provider of Mississippi State’s website, mobile app, and streaming platform.
About Learfield
Learfield is the leading media and technology company powering college athletics. Through its digital and physical platforms, Learfield owns and leverages a deep data set and relationships in the industry to drive revenue, growth, brand awareness, and fan engagement for brands, sports, and entertainment properties. With ties to over 1,200 collegiate institutions and over 12,000 local and national brand partners, Learfield’s presence in college sports and live events delivers influence and maximizes reach to target audiences. With solutions for a 365-day, 24/7 fan experience, Learfield enables schools and brands to connect with fans through licensed merchandise, game ticketing, donor identification for athletic programs, exclusive custom content, innovative marketing initiatives, NIL solutions, and advanced digital platforms. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.