GEORGIA TECH: Deal worth $50 million with marketing company

Georgia Tech will maintain its relationship with marketing company International Sports Properties, and be paid well to do so.

The school’s athletics department and ISP renewed their agreement, a 10-year deal worth nearly $50 million to Tech. It begins immediately.

In return, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company receives Tech’s radio, television and Internet rights, among other properties.

“Anytime you can create a solid revenue stream coming into your program, that’s going to help us as you project forward,” athletics director Dan Radakovich said.

Tech’s first deal with ISP, which started in 2000, was worth about $2.1 million annually, associate athletics director Wayne Hogan said. He attributed the increase in the contract to the growth of the college sports industry, the metro Atlanta market and the Georgia Tech brand.

Tech’s annual athletics department budget is about $52 million, Hogan said.

Further, Tech will enter into a revenue-sharing deal with ISP, meaning that Tech will split the income ISP earns through selling scoreboard ads, sponsorships and the like. Tech’s agreement with ISP —- which represents several conferences and 63 schools, including Georgia —- is unusual because the revenue sharing begins from the first dollar. In other deals ISP has made, it shares money with the school or conference after it has cleared a certain revenue benchmark, Hogan said.

“I give [Radakovich] credit,” ISP chairman and CEO Ben Sutton said. “He said, ‘I’m willing to take some risks on the guaranteed piece in order to have more upside from the get-go.’ “

The deal makes it incumbent upon Tech to help ISP land deals.

Said Radakovich, “When you’re in a revenue-sharing agreement, everybody has a little bit of skin in the game.”

Tech also made public a new sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola. The athletics department will receive $5.94 million over 13 years, a slight increase from the previous contract.

Tech will receive $1 million up front, money that is earmarked for projects such as the new basketball practice facility, scheduled to be finished in September, and a new video board for Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Tech also confirmed its new agreement with FM station WYAY (106.7). The station, which has a stronger signal than flagship station 790 AM, will simulcast football and men’s basketball games and coaches’ shows.