Ilitch Sports + Entertainment to Serve as Sports Marketing Agency for Wayne State University Department of Athletics – Ilitch Companies News Hub

Published on: October 4, 2024

Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, the business division of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers, and the Wayne State University Department of Athletics today announced a partnership in which IS+E will serve as the exclusive sports marketing agency for the Warriors.  Through the multi-year partnership, IS+E’s corporate partnerships team will manage the sale of sponsorships on behalf of Wayne State Athletics, in addition to strategic planning for partner activations.

Similar models are prevalent across the intercollegiate athletics and professional sports landscape, with athletic departments, teams and venues partnering with third-party brand management agencies to sell and activate corporate partnerships, among other services.  Working with the highly experienced team at IS+E will offer Wayne State Athletics access to innovative approaches and best practices that maximize the athletic department’s brand exposure and revenue opportunities, while providing corporate partners with dynamic experiences and high-value visibility.

“We are excited to announce this innovative partnership with Wayne State Athletics,” said Ryan Gustafson, President and CEO, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment.  “Our corporate partnerships team, under the leadership of Chief Commercial Officer Chris Coffman, is committed to advancing the Wayne State Athletics brand presence across Metro Detroit during a new and dynamic era in intercollegiate athletics.”

“I am very excited about this partnership with Ilitch Sports and Entertainment,” remarked WSU Director of Athletics Erika Wallace.  “Together we will support our student-athletes and our athletic programs by creating unique branding opportunities for corporate partners throughout Detroit.  Wayne State University sits just one mile down the street from Little Caesars Arena and Comerica Park.  Leveraging our assets on the collegiate sports platform in combination with the professional sports platform, in a city that we all call home, will provide many partners with opportunities that they have not seen before and elevate our fan experience.”

WSU Athletics attracts outstanding students to Wayne State, locally and from around the world.  Athletic scholarships are a significant source of financial support, enabling the department’s more than 400 student-athletes to earn higher education degrees from among 375 academic programs.

Wayne State’s athletic campus at Warren and Trumbull Avenues includes Tom Adams Field – home of the Warriors football team – and a three-year old, $28 million Wayne State Fieldhouse that serves as the home of Wayne State men’s and women’s basketball, in addition to the Motor City Cruise, the Detroit Pistons G-League affiliate.  Six new buildings have been added to WSU’s athletics campus since 2010.

Wayne State sponsors 18 varsity sports, most of which compete at the NCAA Division II level as a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).  The fencing programs participate in the Central Collegiate Fencing Conference with Ohio State and Northwestern.  The Warriors have won 44 conference titles in the past 17 years, produced 11 team national championships and had two Olympians this past summer in Paris (Sabre Fencer Ziad Elsissy, and Epeeist Mahmoud Saleh).

Success of WSU student-athletes is also evidenced by the department’s 3.45 cumulative grade point average with every team boasting a GPA of at least 3.11.  WSU’s student-athlete Academic Success Rate (ASR) is 78 percent.  The Athletic Department was recently awarded the GLIAC Community Service Award for its contributions to the local community.

The Ilitch organization and Wayne State University have a longstanding relationship, including the opening of the Mike Ilitch School of Business in 2018 made possible by a $40 million gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch.  The gift remains the largest in the school’s history and highlights the Ilitch family’s lifelong dedication to promoting entrepreneurship, education and the revitalization of Detroit.

Since the announcement of the gift, Wayne State’s business school has launched new programs in Sport and Entertainment Management and Entrepreneurship and Innovation, creating even more opportunities for students to become immersed in Detroit’s business community.

The IS+E corporate partnerships team cultivates partnerships with companies to leverage the Red Wings and Tigers iconic brands to drive business objectives.  The department structure includes sales, activation and solutions verticals, with the team managing sponsor relationships at Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park, the historic Fox Theatre and Pine Knob Music Theatre, among other entertainment venues across Metro Detroit.