HBCU football can now place advertisements on fields

By Tolly Carr

Starting this season both Division I and Division II HBCU football teams can place corporate advertisements on their fields. The NCAA Football Rules Committee made the recommendation on Thursday which will allow the new sponsorship opportunity.

Under the new rule according to the NCAA, “the corporate advertisements can be placed in three spots on the field: A single advertisement centered on the 50-yard line is allowed in addition to no more than two smaller flanking advertisements elsewhere on the field. This could be done on a game-by-game basis or for the whole season.”

Currently there are already existing advertisement allowances for games played in the postseason bowl games and neutral-site games. The new ruling allows schools to potentially align those advertisements during the regular season for home games.

Most importantly this creates an additional revenue opportunity for schools that had not been available during the regular season.

Sponsorship opportunities utilized during the postseason are now available during the regular season for HBCU teams.

“This change allows schools to generate additional income to support student-athletes,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said. “I’m pleased that we could find flexibility within our rules to make this happen for member schools.”

The rule change is supported by Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision conferences, as well as the Division I FBS Oversight and FCS Oversight Committees.

The new sponsorship opportunity creates an advantage for advertisers at HBCU football stadiums by putting their brand in front of both an in stadium crowd as well as a television audience.