Crimson Tide’s success creates product licensing wave
Birmingham News – Nov. 28
…”Recently there has been an unusual surge with us being ranked No. 1 and going to the SEC Championship,” said Jennifer Martin, director of marketing and licensing for the University of Alabama. Martin said royalty revenues from this year’s football season are certain to top the $3.7 million the university made last year. Those funds go to support scholarships and the Paul W. Bryant Museum…
University of Alabama license plates outsell Auburn University by more than 14,000
Birmingham News – Nov. 27
When it comes to vehicle tags, University of Alabama license plates are No.1, outselling Auburn University plates by more than 14,000 in the past year. For the fiscal year that ended in September, Alabama had 64,162 license plates registered to Auburn’s 50,889, according to the Alabama Department of Revenue…”The purpose of the tag, I think, depends on who you talk to,” said Pat Whetstone, Alabama’s director of alumni affairs. “A lot of us think it’s about scholarships. If you talk to a tag purchaser, it’s a different answer. It’s that `I’m a Bama fan, and here’s my tag to prove it.’ I think a lot of people buy it to show school pride and for the school rivalry. I think it’s almost emotional.”…
SUPe store to set up supply vending machines
Crimson White – Dec. 1
The SGA, University Supply Store and Pepsi Products have partnered on a trial basis to supply students with a vending machine that will offer general school supplies, said Louise Crow, SGA vice president of student affairs. The vending machine, known as the SUPe Vendor, will offer items that range from pens, pencils, highlighters, locks, batteries, blank CDs, flash drives and more…“The SGA recognized that the only available options for students to purchase school supplies on campus were at the very north and very south ends of campus,” Crow said. ”Now we are offering a middle ground location where supplies are easily accessible, even after the SUPe stores have closed.”…
Peak interest
AthleticBusiness.com – December 2008
…The University of Alabama recreation department now packs up to 22 exercisers into one 20-by-40-foot former racquetball court during any of the three to four group cycling sessions it schedules every weekday, each one so popular that turning aspiring riders away has become commonplace. “Trend-wise, we saw what other campus rec facilities have seen,” says George Brown, executive director of university recreation on the Tuscaloosa campus, where the Student Recreation Center was built with 14 racquetball courts in 1982…a $24 million renovation launched in 2004, ultimately saw two racquetball courts combined as one climbing gym, another turned into a combative arts room and a fourth the group cycling studio…”Before the conversion, we had a studio for our bikes, but it didn’t have any of the sights, sounds and overall dynamics of a studio dedicated to that kind of exercise.” Enter a creative team of graduate art students, who built their master’s theses around the renovation of a racquetball court. “We bought the materials, but they drew the design and actually constructed the studio over a three-month period,” Brown says. “They retrofitted it, dropped the ceiling, put in fans, put in acoustical tiles, changed out the walls with some fluorescent tube lighting to give it some mood effect — all within a budget of no more than $20,000, and they did all the labor.”……At Alabama, university recreation officials aren’t about to put the brakes on their group cycling conversion. In fact, Brown envisions future enhancements. “We already have a state-of-the-art Bose sound system in there,” he says, “but I think the idea now is that behind the instructor there might be some visualization of mountains, valleys, desert land — something that gives the students further stimulation.” Those stimulated by the ricochets of a blue ball are still served by nine courts, which Brown considers just about right to meet current racquetball interest levels. But that could change as UA’s enrollment speeds toward 30,000 students. Calls for another conversion can already be heard. “We’ve sort of created another problem,” Brown says. “There’s such demand that some people are saying that we need to do this to another racquetball court.”
Automakers’ roots go deep in Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 1
… “There’s not a single sector of the economy that would not be impacted,” said Barry Mason, dean of the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. “It’s not just Tuscaloosa, it’s all across the state.”…Jim Cashman, a UA management professor, said the Big Three’s troubles could actually be good news for Alabama, with its foreign-based auto factories and related suppliers.
“In some twisted way, it reduces the competition for the vehicles that are produced here,” Cashman said. “Those purchases not going for autos produced by the Big Three will have to go somewhere and that somewhere is here. It will have a net positive affect on suppliers.”
Hot toys are ‘recession-proof’
Gainesville (Ga.) Times – Nov. 28
…”Toys are typically looked at as recession-resistant,” said Kristy E. Reynolds, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Alabama who researches holiday shopping trends. “Parents are very reluctant to hold back on toy purchases for their kids.”
Reynolds believes retail holiday sales could be at their lowest levels since the early 1980s, based on early economic indicators. But toy giants Mattel and Hasbro reported strong third-quarter earnings, she said…
Statewide, economists are predicting a slight growth in retail sales during the holidays
Florence Times-Daily – Nov. 27
…”If Black Friday turns out to be better than expected, it doesn’t bode well for December,” said Samuel Addy, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at The University of Alabama. If Black Friday sales are worse than expected, shoppers may postpone their heaviest shopping until December, Addy said. “There is a general correction going on over the economy,” Addy said. “The environment is not one in which consumers are likely to add to their debt. “When we see a general pull back, some people are looking at it as a bad thing. It’s really a good correction because we have been splurging for a long time.”…
Rants and raves
Montgomery Advertiser – Nov. 29
RAVE: For the University of Alabama athletic department, which has pledged $1 million annually toward academic programs. It is a nice gesture; one that few university athletic programs — even the most successful ones — routinely make. The Tide athletic program has made several major donations to academics over the years, but this appears to be the first ongoing annual pledge. While we applaud the annual pledge, Alabama supporters should hope that the athletic department does not see it as replacing those occasional large donations for specific purposes. Last year, the Tide athletic program banked $15 million after expenses. The program can afford to do a lot more for academics, and should.
UA to open RV lots early
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 28
The University of Alabama will open its on-campus RV lots at 8 a.m. today, about 10 hours earlier than normal, for Saturday’s Iron Bowl. UA also will allow people to set up tailgate spots on the Quad at noon today, six hours early…
Birmingham News – Nov. 28
FOX6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 28
NBC13 (Birmingham) – Nov. 28
Opinion: Joyful thanks for the blessings of each day
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 27
…Thanks for those institutions that have helped buffer the economic woes, particularly the University of Alabama, which continues to see enrollment growth. Fans of the Crimson Tide have much to be thankful for this season, as well…