Wolf Pack basketball fever is heating up sponsorship and advertising sales for University of Nevada athletics-related media.
In the wake of the men's team appearance in the NCAA tournament "Sweet 16" in March, sponsorships for radio broadcasts of university games are selling more quickly, says Dane Wilt, general manager of radio station ESPN 630 AM in Reno.
The station, which broadcasts baseball, football and men's and women's basketball games, is now selling sponsorships for the next seasons.
Seismic Events, which contracts with the university to sell athletic program advertising, signage and television and radio sponsorship packages, is seeing the same effect.
Account manager Natalie Nelson says new companies are coming on board, and she expects all the advertising and sponsorships to be sold out by May or June this year, two to three months earlier than last year.
Wolf Pack Edge in Reno, a monthly newspaper covering University of Nevada athletics, is also seeing increased interest.
"We had some new support and we were able to negotiate a couple of longer-term agreements," says publisher Ken Moen.
One client, who Moen had been calling for seven years, for instance, placed an ad for the first time as the team advanced to the Sweet 16.
But a combination of factors not just the Sweet 16 appearance drives interest in university athletic sponsorships, Nelson says.
Former athletic director Chris Ault's return next season to coaching the football team, for instance, is creating a buzz.
Ault, a National College Football Hall of Famer, was head football coach from 1976 to 1992 and 1994 to 1995.
His coaching career is the most successful in the program's 105-year history.
Recent news that basketball head coach Trent Johnson will stay another five years to guide his team is also exciting fans.
In addition, some companies buying sponsorships for the first time this year may have wanted to all along but did not have the budgets to do it earlier, Nelson says.
Still, there's no denying the tournament has raised the Wolf Pack's profile.
"Each round we played, I'd get voice mails from people saying, 'Hey, we want to get involved with the Wolf Pack,'" says Kurt Esser, the university's assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions.
Esser says sales of season tickets for men's basketball have risen 10 percent, and he expects another 10 percent to 15 percent increase next year.
Internet hits on the university's site that sells Wolf Pack merchandise topped 1.1 million in March, compared to a monthly average of 300,000.
And sales of goods with the Wolf Pack insignia totaled $257,000 in March, compared to $38,000 in the same month last year.
"If it was Nevada Blue, they were buying it," says Tom Davies, general manager of the Associated Students University of Nevada bookstore.
How hot was the fever? The store sold 6,000 Sweet 16 T-shirts in just three hours one T-shirt sale every two seconds.
"I've never seen anything like it," Davies says.
"What was impressive was what was going on in the community, how so many people were getting caught up in the fervor."
Seismic Events president Jimmie Bauserman expects the Sweet 16 appearance to have lasting impact, not just on sales of sponsorships but on the name recognition of the university itself.
After all, before its basketball team was so successful, how many people in the country had heard of a university called Gonzaga?
