(UW Athletics release)
LARAMIE, Wyo. — University of Wyoming Football generated a phenomenal amount of excitement and national exposure throughout this past year. As a part of that national exposure, the media exposure associated with Wyoming Football has been valued at over $159 million for the period from Aug. 1, 2017 through May 14, 2018.
Joyce Julius & Associates Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., an independently owned and operated research company that has provided independent sports, special events and entertainment program evaluation since 1985 put together the media exposure valuation.
In January of 2018, a preliminary report from Joyce Julius & Associates valued the media coverage of Wyoming Football from Aug. 1 through Dec. 31, 2017 at an estimated exposure value of $46,234,429.
Since that preliminary valuation, an additional $96,715, 832 in media exposure was estimated from Jan. 1 to May 14, 2018. Also during the January to May period, a valuation of $14,041,809 was placed on social media coverage and a valuation of $2,036,157 of social media coverage from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2017, was added that was not part of the original $46 million valuation, bringing the final valuation to $159,028,227.
“The valuation provided to us by Joyce Julius & Associates shows the impact that a successful football program can have on the exposure an athletics department and a university receives on a national level,” said Tom Burman, University of Wyoming Athletics Director. “Between the national attention that Josh (Allen) gained throughout the season and leading up to the NFL Draft combined with the successful season that Coach (Craig) Bohl and his team put together, we now have a way to measure the value that Cowboy Football brought to the University of Wyoming and the state of Wyoming.”
The benefits of successful athletics programs and the exposure they attract has been shown to improve overall student recruitment on college campuses across the country, increase alumni support and enhance fundraising. The investment in University of Wyoming Athletics in recent years, through a commitment from donors and the Wyoming State Legislature, has paid dividends in increased success for Wyoming Athletics, which has led directly to the enhanced exposure of the athletics department, the university and the state of Wyoming. That investment and the increased exposure have also created an atmosphere around Cowboy and Cowgirl Athletics that has stimulated more interest from alumni and donors, including the growth of the Cowboy Joe Club to over 5,000 members, making it the largest annual athletics scholarship fund membership in the Mountain West Conference.
The Joyce Julius study evaluated media coverage of nationally televised games involving Cowboy Football, television news coverage, print media coverage, internet news coverage and social media coverage of Wyoming Football. The $159,028,227 valuation placed on the media coverage is based on how much that exposure would cost in the open market if purchased at current advertising rates. The national television valuation in the study was calculated using a weighted formula, called Recognition Grade, which takes into account factors such as brand size on the screen, placement of the brand and clutter.
Overview of the Media Coverage
Wyoming Football was featured on live television coverage for a combined 21 hours and 54 minutes of on-screen brand exposure for the university. There were 84,779 total combined media mentions or articles surrounding Cowboy Football in the fall of 2017 between nationally-televised games, television news coverage, print news and internet news. And the study documented over 4.7 billion impressions (4,753,426,927) related to Wyoming Football over all the media platforms included in the study from Aug. 1, 2017 to May 14, 2018.
Value of the Media Coverage
Included in the total was $15,263,270 of value from nationally televised Wyoming football games in the fall of 2017 and live television coverage of the First Round of the 2018 NFL Draft. An additional $6,559,674 in value came from television news coverage of Cowboy Football. A value of $11,359,571 was assigned to print media coverage of Wyoming Football, and a value of $109,767,746 was assigned to internet news coverage. Social media coverage throughout the length of the study was valued at a combined $16,077,966.
Summary of Media Exposure for University of Wyoming Football (From Aug. 1, 2017 to May 14, 2018)
Exposure Source Exposure Time Mentions/Articles Impressions Exposure Value
National Television 21 hours, 54 minutes 1,073 14,267,883 $ 15,263,270
Television News NA 3,495 243,476,120 6,559,674
Print Media NA 14,124 420,413,451 11,359,571
Social Media NA NA 594,844,747 16,077,966
Internet News NA 66,087 4,075,269,473 109,767,746
Totals 21 hours, 54 minutes 84,779 5,348,271,674 $159,028,227
Televised Games
Wyoming identity appeared clear and in-focus for 20 hours and 51 minutes throughout its nationally televised games during the 2017 football season. A weighted value of $13,641,963 was placed on that exposure through national telecasts of Wyoming games on networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, CBS Sports Network, AT&T SportsNet and the Big Ten Network.
A total valuation of $1,621,307 was placed on First Round NFL Draft Coverage on ESPN, ESPN2, FOX and NFL Network.
Combined, the national televised broadcasts reached 11,201,000 home viewers.
The weighted methodology (Recognition Grade methodology) that Joyce Julius uses to value national television coverage, takes into account detailed factors such as the: size of a school’s brand identity included in each element of the TV coverage; screen position; brand clutter; and any applicable brand integration.
It is worth noting that the value of the exposure Wyoming Football received through nationally televised games and live coverage of the First Round of the NFL Draft, if valued purely at 30-second commercial rates charged during those telecasts, would equate to $35,107,125 per Joyce Julius’ study. The weighted value of $15,263,270 ($13,641,963 + $1,621,307) that Joyce Julius calculated is what the firm deems a more accurate and precise value based on the various digitally-measured factors mentioned earlier.
Television News Coverage
In addition to live television coverage of Wyoming Football games in 2017, a valuation of over $6.5 million ($6,559,674) was placed on television coverage in 3,495 news programs around the country that made mention of Wyoming Football in their programming. Joyce Julius contracted with Cision Ltd., which reviews news programming appearing in all 210 U.S. television markets, to monitor Wyoming Football exposure on television. Those television news organizations included the likes of ABC, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, FOX, Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports Network and NFL Network, as well as regional and local television stations across the country.
Print Media Coverage
A total of 14,124 mentions or articles in print publications were tracked in the study, with a value of $11,359,571 placed on that print media exposure by national, regional and local print publications. Nexis, a company that monitors more than 3,000 U.S. and Canadian daily and weekly publications, provided information to Joyce Julius regarding the number of mentions of Wyoming Football. Among the publications covering Cowboy Football were: Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, along with numerous regional and local publications.
Social Media Coverage
Social media coverage was added to the original study. From Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2017, a total of 75,162,692 social media impressions were identified with a value of $2,036,157 placed on that exposure. From Jan. 1 to May 14, 2018, an additional 519,682,055 impressions were tracked for a value of $14,041,809. The total social media values for the length of the study were 594,844,747 impressions valued at $16,077,966.
Internet Media Coverage
And 66,087 internet news stories about Cowboy Football, not including social media, were documented by the study, with a value of $109,767,746 placed on stories through internet news sites. Cision Ltd., was also utilized by Joyce Julius to capture internet news coverage. Included in the internet sites that covered the Cowboys were: BleacherReport.com, CNBC.com, ESPN.com, FoxSports.com, FoxNews.com, NYPost.com, SBNation.com, TheAthletic.com, USAToday.com, WashingtonPost.com and Yahoo.com, as well as many local and regional internet sites.\
About the Study and Joyce Julius & Associates
University of Wyoming Athletics contracted with Joyce Julius and Associates at a cost of $24,150 to conduct the study in order to gain a better understanding of the media coverage that Wyoming Football was attracting on a national level and to obtain a value of that media exposure.
Joyce Julius and Associates has developed and perfected fully customizable products that have become the industry standard in exposure measurement. Among its other sports industry clients are: Chick-fil-A, Clemson University, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the University of Colorado, ESPN Events, the Golden State Warriors, the Mid-American Conference, the NCAA, Rutgers University, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, the TaxSlayer Bowl, Temple University, the Valero Alamo Bowl and the West Coast Conference.
