DePaul University Athletics, JMI Sports Announce Multimedia Rights Partnership

Media rights and venue development company will work with DePaul athletics to enhance revenues and provide a comprehensive corporate partnerships and multimedia rights program

CHICAGO – DePaul University Athletics and JMI Sports announced today a five-year multimedia rights partnership. The new agreement, which begins on July 1, 2021, makes JMI Sports the official corporate partnerships and multimedia rights partner for DePaul Athletics.

“As we engaged in the process of finding a multimedia rights partner, it quickly became clear that JMI Sports was the right partner for DePaul Athletics,” said DePaul Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy. “We believe JMI Sports’ bold, DePaul-centric vision and innovative approach to the marketplace will ensure sustained success for our department and allow us to cultivate a stronger national brand.”

Through this partnership, DePaul Athletics and JMI Sports will seek to develop valuable relationships with sponsors and generate new revenues to support DePaul Athletics while enhancing the student-athlete and fan experience. This partnership is the latest example of DePaul Athletics’ goal to employ bold and innovative approaches to increase self- generated funding necessary to accomplish the department’s strategic goals and provide greater national exposure for DePaul University.

“DePaul University is an amazing institution with great athletics history, located in one of the best sports cities in the country,” said Erik Judson, co-founder and CEO of JMI Sports. “We are excited to work with DeWayne and his team to bring new partners and solutions to the DePaul Athletics family.”

As a member of the BIG EAST Conference and located in the nation’s third-largest media market of Chicago, DePaul and its corporate partners are well positioned to maximize exposure through the Blue Demon’s 15 intercollegiate athletics programs. In addition to Chicago, the BIG EAST features institutions located in eight of the nation’s 36 largest media markets, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Hartford/New Haven, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee. Millions of fans have watched the men’s basketball program led by Ray Meyer for over 40 years through present day at the state-of-the-art Wintrust Arena in the South Loop neighborhood of the city.

About DePaul Athletics
DePaul Athletics and its 15 intercollegiate programs have a storied tradition and intersection with the city of Chicago. As part of the nation’s largest Catholic university, boasting over 170,000 Blue Demon alumni worldwide, DePaul is uniquely positioned to support the university’s mission and commitment to outstanding teaching, academic excellence, real world experience, community engagement, and systemic change.

Through a bold new vision for the future, DePaul Athletics looks to become the premier program in the BIG EAST Conference through a focus on winning championships with integrity, building champion students through education and intentional development, and serving as a visible ambassador for DePaul University and the Chicago community.

About JMI Sports
JMI Sports is a leading media rights and venue development company providing management of collegiate multimedia rights, sponsorship sales agency representation, and highly regarded project management expertise to the development of collegiate and professional sports facilities. The company serves to maximize each client’s economic potential through customized initiatives, from marketing and branding solutions to facility design strategies that bring each client’s vision to fruition. JMI Sports manages an impressive list of signature collegiate multimedia rights partnerships including, the University of Kentucky, Clemson University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University, and joint-venture properties of the University of Georgia and Columbia University (with Learfield IMG College), and University of Notre Dame (with Legends). JMI Sports also represents several high-profile conferences including the Ivy League, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Southern Conference, and the Patriot League. Additionally, JMI Sports serves as third- party sales representation for premier venues and events including Breeders’ Cup, Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center and the Penn Relays. The company’s facility development team is currently collaborating with Legends on the new Aztec Stadium and Mission Valley development for San Diego State University in San Diego, CA. Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2021, JMI Sports was founded by CEO Erik Judson and technology entrepreneur John Moores, former owner of the San Diego Padres.