PIERRE - Four Northern State University faculty and alumni recently published their analysis of the Women's National Basketball Association marketing techniques.
They found the league's status rose after hiring Laurel Richie as president in 2011.
Richie lacked experience in athletics or sports. She instead brought 25 years in marketing and advertising.
"No longer are the team names such as the Mercury, Suns or Lynx on the front of the jerseys," the Northern State group wrote, "instead they have been replaced by logos of companies such as Boost Mobile, LifeLock, Microsoft, or Farmers Insurance."
Business partnerships are one of the steps the WNBA hopes help expand the fan base.
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Sponsorships are big in auto racing, on the professional golf tours and sometimes in professional soccer.
Eight of 30 National Basketball AssociatThe WNBA paper appeared in the journal Recreation, Parks, and Tourism in Public Health, published by Indiana University Press. To purchase a copy, go to https://bit.ly/2xHHeEH .
Its authors were: Thomas Orr, an assistant professor in the department of health and physical education; Allen Barclay, an associate professor of management in the department of management and marketing; Mykenzie Wakefield, who works for Optum in Eden Prairie, Minn.; and Mack Arvidson, a staffing consultant at Express Employment Professionals in Fargo, N.D.
In answer to some written follow-up questions, Orr and Barclay replied they don't find sponsorships on playing outfits in pro tennis.
"There are so many ways to sponsor an athlete or team that does not require the display of the logos prominently on jerseys, so again you don't see it that often," they wrote.
But they do in another non-team sport.
"However, just look at professional golf, their sponsors are all over the players," Orr and Barclay said.
Northern State at Aberdeen had some of the best Division II attendance for major sports in recent years.
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"In our opinion, it would be very beneficial for NSU teams to have sponsorship, however there is not much room for that right now," Orr and Barclay replied
"Again, there are creative ways for sponsorship for NSU teams, just not on the uniforms," they wrote.
