Dogs on the uptick in NCAA
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: There are a few potential Cinderella stories in this year’s NCAA tournament. One of them: the Drake Bulldogs. They play Western Kentucky today. This is Drake’s first tournament appearance in 37 years. And it could mean big money for the small school. Drake’s in Iowa by the way. Dan Grech has more.
Dan Grech: Drake expects to cash in on its Cinderella season.
Ross Nethery: There are so many different areas that it can pay off for a school like Drake, and will.
Ross Nethery is managing editor of Sports Business Journal:
Nethery: It would see an uptick in the number of applicants. It would see an uptick in merchandise sales — hats and jerseys and T-shirts. It may mean more when Drake negotiates a radio deal.
Kenneth Shropshire: The most positive could be increased donations by alums and others, saying, finally our school has made it.
That’s Kenneth Shropshire, a sports marketing professor at Wharton.
And there’s recent precedent. Two years back, George Mason was the mystery guest in the NCAA tournament. They made it all the way to the Final Four.
Since then, out-of-state applicants to the Virginia university have jumped 40 percent.
I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.
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