By: John Hall, Editor-in-Chief
With Renaissance 2021 underway, numerous changes are occurring externally and within the Saint Leo University Community.
Pushing the brand and advertising the Saint Leo community’s culture is a large part of the process, as Saint Leo became the Exclusive Education Partner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team.
The agreement which came about in summer 2019, signifies the commitment of the University to grow its presence within the Tampa Bay area.
While most of the intricacies of the deal are still being tabled, the benefits to Saint Leo include in social and digital features as well as in-stadium and market advertisement.
The partnership drew a lot of attention of persons passing University Campus as signs and flags were posted around campus of the Tampa Bay Football Team.
In keeping with the University’s commitment to Veterans, the University will also provide at each home game a “Hero of the Game Award” recognizing the brave amongst us.
Business Education Collaborative Partnerships such as this are not uncommon. In Apr. 2014 DeVry University was established as the exclusive education partner of the National Football League Alumni Association. The agreement allowed the Pro Football Legends members and their families unique opportunities to attain higher education.
Similarly, members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization will be given a discounted rate to Saint Leo University and its centers. Every particular detail of this arrangement is still under discussion; however, it is expected to yield a mutual advantage to both Saint Leo and The Buccaneers.
With the increased exposure, the Saint Leo community is expected to grow exponentially over the next three years.
According to Dr. Melanie Storms, Sr. Vice President for Saint Leo Worldwide, “it’s very much a marketing relationship. So, it’s going to give us a tremendous amount of Market exposure in the Tampa Bay Community, but also across the State of Florida.”
Dr. Storms continued, “As part of the partnership on the marketing side, it’s very expansive. There’s digital, social media and in-stadium marketing. So, we’ll be on the LED ribbon board, sponsoring the in-game trivia and sponsoring the military hero of the game, which we’re very excited about that such a great tie-in for Saint Leo.”
A myriad of game-related activities is also slated around game time, that will continue to push the name of the University.
Dr. Storms says, “We are sponsoring the “Meet the Rookies” series. If you go on the Buccaneers website, you’ll see one of our commercials attached to that. They’re going to be doing Instagram trivia Tuesday as well, which will be sponsoring.”
Dr. Storms also mentioned that the University would receive several TV commercial spots within the preseason game. Students welcome the new agreement with their eyes fixed on the prospect of receiving cheap or Free Tickets to attend games.
The Campus Activities Board, along with the Student Activities yearly, create opportunities to visit a myriad of games in the area; however, students have anticipated that the agreement would allow more frequent trips to the Raymond James Stadium.
With the extravagance of this agreement on the table, the natural thought arises to ask, how much does it cost? Dr. Storms explained that it is no more than what the advertisement budget allowed in years prior.
“We have a certain budget that is dedicated to branding initiatives like T.V., Radio, Billboards, all of this is coming from that budget because it’s the same type of exposure.”
This exposure has the potential to reach over 12 million viewers as reported in the New York Post, Sept. 6, 2018, where the Pittsburgh Steelers faced off with the Buccs on Monday Night Football. Despite viewership reported being low during that period for NFL games, the regular season audience has enough of a base that will propel the University’s name to higher heights.
University Campus was ignited with the flames of excitement as Captain Fear and Fritz the Lion made special appearances at the launch.
The launch event that was held on University Campus Aug. 8 appeared to fan the flames of excitement for University Campus and the wider Saint Leo community.
Melinda Rogers-Simpson, Adjunct Music Professor, is excited about the partnership. As a Tampa resident and Buccs fan, she intends to spend time, either in stadium or tailgating with pride, knowing her school is a part of the Buccs family.
Photo ops were apart of the day as staff, faculty and students posed for photos with Captain Fear- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers mascot.
Although she was not able to attend the launch party, she participated online by entering the raffle to score Buccs game tickets. Ms. Simpson expressed, “Tickets are expensive! I hope they are able to give a substantial discount to faculty and staff so that we can support the team and the community.”
The launch party saw special appearances by the Buccaneers cheerleaders who joined Saint Leo’s Cheerleaders on the veranda of the cafeteria.
The Buccs Mascot Captain Fear and Saint Leo’s mascot Fritz posed for photo ops and brought vitality to the event by conjuring the good spirits of both organizations.
With the exposure and publicity that will be garnered by the new partnership, Saint Leo University can continue the trend of being a viable contender in the decision to pursue higher education.
