Aug. 6, 2014 DeKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois University Athletics has reached an agreement with Learfield Sports to manage its multimedia and sponsorship opportunities for the next 10 years, NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier announced Wednesday.

The agreement between NIU and the pre-eminent multimedia rights-holder in intercollegiate athletics extends through the 2023-24 academic year and provides Huskie Athletics with a multi-million dollar guarantee during the length of the contract. Learfield will assume the Huskies' comprehensive multimedia rights and the on-site management team of Huskie Sports Properties, the official name of Learfield's NIU entity, will be led by general manager Evan Hawkins.

Hawkins and his staff will manage every aspect of the Huskies' rights including signage, sponsorships, corporate hospitality, event marketing, game programs, radio and television broadcasts, including radio coaches' shows, and official athletics website advertising.

Frazier said the partnership with Learfield will provide NIU Athletics and the NIU Convocation Center with the best chance to maximize the department's corporate sponsorship opportunities and grow its revenue base.

"Learfield Sports is a company that `gets it' when you are talking about providing opportunities for sponsors and corporate partners to get involved with Huskie Athletics," Frazier said. "I'm confident they're going to do a tremendous job managing our multimedia rights and helping to build our brand throughout the region. There's no doubt this agreement will benefit NIU, Learfield and our corporate and media partners.

"I'm excited that Huskie Sports Properties will be right here in our building and in our community, and will have the ability to tie in with the many other Learfield properties in Illinois and across the Midwest. This agreement is a great step in continuing to move this program forward.

"This is the culmination of a year-long negotiation to significantly improve our multimedia rights agreement and today we have done that," Frazier added. "Kudos to Associate Athletic Director Ryan Sedevie and our external affairs staff for all their hard word in getting this agreement done. Deals like this are about relationships and we look forward to a long and productive relationship with our partners at Learfield Sports."

Learfield President and CEO Greg Brown said he and his staff on the corporate level and locally with Huskie Sports Properties are excited to officially announce the partnership with NIU.

"We look forward to representing the Huskies. We have known Sean for many years and are pleased for the opportunity to partner with him again at NIU," said Brown.

In its four decades, Learfield has developed trusted, long-term relationships with some of the most revered institutions and associations in the world of collegiate athletics. Learfield Sports manages the exclusive multimedia rights to 99 collegiate properties in the country and has prominence in all of the major conferences. Learfield's rights encompass all athletic department media and sponsorships components, including stadium signage and numerous content distribution platforms. Those platforms deliver the passion of college athletics over radio, television and digital networks to fans globally. Learfield also offers its college partners with licensing and trademark consulting, concessions and hospitality services and professional ticket sales. For more, visit www.learfieldsports.com.

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