Many Kentuckians and fans of intercollegiate athletics are familiar with the name Jim Host. As founder and CEO of Host Communications, he was the pioneer in college sports marketing. Host’s prevailing innovation in collegiate sports was the concept of bundled licensing, which encouraged corporate partners to become official sponsors of athletic programs across media formats. Host and his team developed the NCAA Radio Network and introduced what became known as the NCAA Corporate Partner Program, employing companies such as Gillette, Valvoline, Coca-Cola, and Pizza Hut to promote university athletic programs and the NCAA at large. Host was involved with the construction of Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Horse Park, and the KFC Yum! Center. But few know his full story.
Changing the Game is the first complete account of Host’s professional life, detailing his achievements in sports radio, management, and broadcasting; his time in minor league baseball, real estate, and the insurance business; and his foray into Kentucky politics, including his appointments under governors Louie B. Nunn and Ernie Fletcher. This memoir provides a behind-the-scenes look at the growth of big-time athletics and offers solutions for current challenges facing college sports.
Зміст
1. Preface
2. Growing Roots
3. Chasing Dreams
4. In Search of a New Dream
5. Exploring Life in Politics
6. Running for Office and Running a Business
7. Business in the Bluegrass and Beyond
8. Working in an Ever-Changing Environment
9. The NCAA and Corporate Sponsorships
10. Back to Kentucky and Bundled Rights
11. The Solid South: Expanding in the SEC
12. Surviving an Era of Crisis
13. My Last Great Pitch for the NCAA
14. A Time of Transition
15. The KFC Yum! Center
16. Epilogue
Про автора
Eric A. Moyen is associate professor and department head of Educational Leadership at Mississippi State University. He is the author of Frank Mc Vey and the University of Kentucky: A Progressive President and the Modernization of a Southern University.