Collegiate Marketing Firm Adds Digital Platform To Its Portfolio Of Services
PLANO, Texas – Learfield Sports announced today that it has entered an agreement to acquire SIDEARM Sports, one of the leading digital platforms serving over 700 collegiate athletic programs with customized web, social media, design and mobile content services.
“We are very excited about this acquisition,” said Greg Brown, President and CEO of Learfield. “The SIDEARM platform provides athletic departments with an incredibly nimble and user-friendly platform.”
SIDEARM was founded in 2001 by Jeff Rubin, who will continue to lead the business. SIDEARM has 60 employees and is based in Syracuse, NY. Learfield will not be making any employee changes and the terms of the transaction will remain confidential.
“Joining up with Learfield marks an incredibly important growth transition for SIDEARM,” said Rubin. “We will have at our disposal a fantastic platform of trusted collegiate relationships and a seasoned leadership team to help us expand our services. Learfield also provides our employees with many new professional career development opportunities.”
SIDEARM offers its clients an easy-to-use interface, allowing schools to customize their content streams and digital presence. “As we’ve learned more about SIDEARM, we have not only been impressed by the speed in which their platform has been adopted, but also the incredibly positive comments made by their clients about their service, reliability and customization,” added Brown.
The addition of SIDEARM to Learfield’s growing portfolio of collegiate businesses adds yet another strategic service the company is able to offer its university partners. Learfield recently expanded its service offering to include licensing and trademark management and consulting when it announced the acquisition of LRG. The SIDEARM leadership team will continue to manage the business day-to-day and will report to Learfield Sports’ COO Marc Jenkins.
“We have enjoyed getting to know the folks at Learfield, and we believe what we’ve built at SIDEARM will fit perfectly with package of services the company already provides its clients,” noted Rubin. “Learfield has a fantastic company culture that we are excited to now be a part of.”
“Strategically, this is right down the fairway for us,” said Brown. “We couldn’t be more pleased to have the SIDEARM team join the Learfield family.”
About SIDEARM Sports
SIDEARM Sports, the leader in collegiate athletic web solutions, provides the software and technology that powers websites, mobile applications, live stats, social presence and video streaming for more 700 colleges/universities across North America. Notable clients include University of Texas, University of Kansas and Syracuse University, as well as the American Athletic Conference, the Sun Belt Conference and the Southland Conference. For more information, visit www.sidearmsports.com.
About Learfield
In its four decades, Learfield has developed trusted, long-term relationships with some of the most revered institutions and associations in the world of collegiate athletics. Learfield Sports manages the exclusive multimedia rights to 99 collegiate properties in the country and has prominence in all of the major conferences. Learfield’s rights encompass all athletic department media and sponsorships components, including stadium signage and numerous content distribution platforms. Those platforms deliver the passion of college athletics over radio, television and digital networks to fans globally. Learfield also offers its college partners with licensing and trademark consulting, concessions and hospitality services and professional ticket sales. This marks the sixth consecutive year for the company to title the prestigious Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. To learn more, visit www.learfieldsports.com.