Bailouts, TARP…And Bowl Game Sponsorships?
by Bob McCartyOne year ago this month, I opined about taxpayers footing the bill for several college football bowl games. I decided to revisit the college football bowl scene and find out who’s sponsoring this year’s post-season gridiron clashes.
Perhaps most surprising among my findings is the fact that a UAW-General Motors entity, the UAW-General Motors Human Resources, is listed here as a sponsor, alongside Ford and a few other organizations, of the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl (formerly known as the Motor City Bowl) to be played at Ford Field in Detroit Dec. 26.
This sponsorship deal makes me wonder how many football fans of the matchup between Marshall University and Ohio University will spend halftime visiting this sponsor’s exciting web site.
The Eagle Bank Bowl is set for Dec. 29 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and appears to be back stronger than ever in 2009. The bowl’s “strength”– not found in the battle between UCLA and Temple — could be due to the fact that it’s title sponsor, Bethesda, Md.-based Eagle Bancorp Inc., received $38.2 million via the Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to a Wall Street Journal report early this year. [Note: From the strange-but-true department, the name of the bank's chairman and chief executive officer is -- drumroll, please -- Ron Paul.]
Judging by its web site, it appears no one but the federal government — which provided $3.55 billion in bailout funds to Capitol One — is helping the title sponsor of the Jan. 1 Capitol One Bowl pitting LSU against Penn State in Orlando. The good news: Over the summer, the bank paid back more than it received, according to this report.
The Detroit News reported last week that Motor City-based GMAC Inc., sponsor of the GMAC Bowl, could benefit from a bailout extension. To date, according to the newspaper, the company has received $13.5 billion in government support and has been in talks with the White House about an additional infusion of up to $5.6 billion. What might happen if an extension falls through before the Jan. 6 game between Troy and Central Michigan? Not much, I suspect.
Finally, after receiving a whopping $20 $25 billion in TARP funds, according to the aforementioned Journal report, Citigroup officials promised yesterday (see this article) they’re going to pay back $20 billion soon. Good for them!
As the title sponsor of both the Rose Bowl (Jan. 1) and the BCS National Championship (Jan. 7) in Pasadena, Citi should be expected to spare no expense when it comes to putting on a good show. At a minimum, they should buy the Oregon Ducks some decent-looking uniforms to wear as they take on Ohio State in the “granddaddy” of bowl games and give the Texas cheerleaders gold-plated shovels to clean up Bevo’s mess after he sees how many points Alabama has pasted on his Longhorns after 60 minutes.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Partisan Media Group, Big Tweeting. Big Tweeting said: BigGovt: Bailouts, TARP…And Bowl Game Sponsorships?: One year ago this month, I opined .. http://bit.ly/7sysdD #BigTweet [...]
Obama Parody….. so funny…….a must watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM_rZYQCjwY
Fire Mike Garrett!
Big college football is broke, just like the coming wave in professional sports. Everybody is in denial, just as they are about so much else in 209 and 2010.
It is just a matter of time for Obama to start dictating the earnings of big sport figures. They obviously need to redistribute their wealth.
Charity is wonderful, Forced Charity is theft!
Obama flushed GM debt down the toilet and filled the company pockets with billions. They are loaded until the parasitic UAW drains them again.
Situations like this are where the populist outrage needs to be somewhat tempered.
Every time this issue comes up, which usually occurs in the left-progressive MSM, these sponsorships are derided as being unconscionable and unwise per se.
An older brouhaha regarding football sponsorship by Bank of America involved supposedly outraged commentators lamenting that taxpayer loans had been used to sponsor NFL events, despite solid evidence that these sponsorships returned, on average, nine dollars in profit for every dollar of money spent advertising.
Those who have run businesses know that advertising is essential in a market-based economy. Advertising allows companies to connect with their customers, and book profits as a result of sales. Few among us would be calling for GMAC to cut television advertising of attractive finance rates, or eliminate dealer awareness of its programs, or eliminate customer retention mailers sent to those who have used GMAC's services in the past and are likely to do so again, yet many of us will call for the elimination of sports sponsorships for being "a waste."
The benchmark for advertising should be its effectiveness, not some nebulous definition of "excessive" according to a populist commentator who appoints himself supreme arbiter of what advertising is acceptable and what isn't.
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Those of us who have owned and managed businesses know that death spirals towards bankruptcy often begin when frugality run wild cuts advertising during a downturn, and eliminates any chance of attracting enough customers to pull the business out of that downturn.
I'm not defending GMAC's spending on this bowl sponsorship. I do not know if it is effective, and I suspect the author does not either. In the absence of evidence, what standard is being used to define "waste"? Additionally, why should advertising be canned if it can be shown to work?
Us fiscal conservatives should support effective advertising, since it can help bring these firms back to profitability, and return to the Treasury those unconstitutional bailout funds that were drawn from it.
Since it's Christmas morning, I just don't feel like bitching. Altho there's plenty to bitch about. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
It must be in the UAW contract that they sponsor the bowl even if they have no funds !!!
The Duck's uniforms are ugly.
the "brothers" will have no part of that – That 'race card" will be pulled so fast your head will spin !!!
I'll bet not one question from any MSM outlet on this subject ! Gar – run – tee !!!
Apart from that, it's not a productive enterprise, so Obama will leave it alone. Remember, he and his ilk LOVE the media/entertainment/sports conglomerate – distraction is where it's at!
Yup. They would be the 'circus' part of his Imperialist 'bread and circuses' plan.
This modern day national socialist must be stopped NOW!
I heard the Oregon Ducks football team, nicely supported by Nike, has some 300 plus
combinations of attire they can display at any time on the gridiron.
I'm not sure they have room in the closet for another one.
Is there any chance the UAW will help GM pay back the funds lent to them
or the additional funds they are negotiating for now? Current Obama voters or anyone else alive
will more than likely not be around to experience that event.
Why do you guys hate football?
The chairman of the Eagle Bank is NOT the Ron Paul you want us to think it is. Ronald G. Paul id not the congressman – Ron Paul. This should be made clear before you suggest everyone tweet it endlessly.
I agree, clearly wrong Ron Paul. Wrong name, wrong age, wrong aducation.
[...] Bailouts, TARP…And Bowl Game Sponsorships? [...]
Don't worry, congress has this covered. They will intervene and create a playoff system, like Obama promised during the campaign. There is no problem that can't be solved with government intervention. I think Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are more than qualified to determine who should be College Football National Champions.
happy new year 2010
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