Survey: 57% of High Schools Are Pursuing Corporate Sponsorship

With an increasing scarcity of educational resources, more than half of all high schools are turning to corporate sponsorship as a means of funding extracurricular programs according to a recent study from researches at Ball State University. The study by David Pierce and Leigh Ann Bussell of the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Science program at Ball State University, reveals that 57% of the 360 high schools studied are using corporate sponsorship to fund athletic programs. Their National Survey of Interscholastic Sport Sponsorship in the United States reveals some other interesting tidbits about how high schools operate when it comes to sponsorship, including most disturbingly that 25.2% of the schools not using sponsorship cite a 'lack of sponsorship sales knowledge' as a reason why. Presumably, that's where companies like Sports Image, Inc. step in. However, the survey illustrates a few other problems/opportunities with sponsorship at the high school level..

- Program ads and signage remain the most commonly reported sponsorship benefits (86% and 81% of the high schools offering sponsorship reported selling them).

- Logos on team uniforms were being offered at 3.7% of the schools that sell sponsorship.

- 75% reported that their largest corporate sponsor was providing under $5,000.

- 80% of the schools using sponsorship reported it accounts for less than 10% of their overall athletic budget.

- Of the schools not currently pursuing sponsorship, 47.2% say it is unlikely or definitely will not happen in the future.

- Top reasons schools cite for not pursuing: program has not been developed (54.2%), not allowed by school district (35.5), and lack of sponsorship sales knowledge (25.2%).

More on Pierce and Bussell's findings below.