State Farm agrees to continue sponsorship: The Bayou Classic will continue to air on NBC for the next two years. The network announced it has renewed the annual football game between Southern University and Grambling through 2012. State Farm will also continue to sponsor the game, which is played the Saturday after Thanksgiving in the Louisiana Superdome. NBC has been broadcasting the Bayou Classic since 1991.
Foundation posted nearly $29.3 million in revenue during 2010: A sports business blogger has opened up the books of the Tiger Athletic Foundation. According to The Business of College Sports, the LSU boosters club posted nearly $29.3 million in revenue during fiscal 2010. Nearly $22 million came from donations from TAF members; rents from University Club and LSU came to nearly $4.6 million, and scoreboard sponsorships brought in $2 million. TAF spent $21.3 million, contributing $8.3 million to the LSU Athletic Department. See the full report here.
Looking at ties to Lyles: Oregon coach Chip Kelly refuses to discuss the Ducks’ use of a Texas-based recruiting service until the school and the NCAA finish an “extensive review” of the program’s dealings with the service’s owner. Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens acknowledged the review today before Pac-12 media day, and Kelly provided little new information in his first comments to reporters about an association threatening to tarnish the Ducks’ run to the national championship game last season. “I would love to talk about it, and when we have a chance after the report comes out, I will be able to clear up any questions that anyone has about the whole situation,” Kelly says. In a statement sent out to Oregon supporters by email last Friday, Mullens said the Ducks have retained a law firm to assess the program’s payment of $25,000 to Willie Lyles, a Houston-based recruiting service owner, for an apparently outdated scouting report last year. Kelly says Oregon publicly will announce the results of its evaluation when it ends. The NCAA is investigating whether Lyles steered star running back Lache Seastrunk to Oregon, which would be a violation of NCAA rules. Lyles has said his services went beyond the normal scope of a scouting service, acknowledging he “made a mistake.” LSU paid Lyles $6,000 for 32 scouting DVDs. The Tigers and Ducks are set to open the college football season Sept. 3 in Arlington, Texas, in a game that will air on ABC primetime.
