TPG Signs 10-Year Partnership with the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, OH (OCTOBER 1, 2019)—The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (OVAC) has signed a new 10-year partnership with Teall Properties Group (TPG), a multimedia and marketing management company for high schools, as the exclusive agent for strategic business partnerships, athletic sponsorships and multimedia rights. The agreement is part of a transition from Scholastic Sports Marketing, which had a longstanding partnership with OVAC and was recently acquired by TPG.
“We are honored about the opportunity to partner with one of the most prominent conferences in
the country,” said TPG CEO Mike Wolfert. “The OVAC, which was led by Executive Director Tom Rataiczak and now Dirk DeCoy, has a strong tradition of events and partnerships that we plan to build and grow within the Ohio Valley.”
Under the partnership, TPG will work with OVAC to develop business relationships to benefit the Conference, its student-athletes and member schools. TPG also will represent the OVAC in negotiations for opportunities related to the regional and national exposure of the Conference’s Championships, All-Star events and student-athletes across its 21 sports. “We are thrilled to partner with Teall Properties Group as our exclusive long-term multimedia rights
partner for the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference,” OVAC Executive Director Dirk DeCoy said. “As the Conference continues to grow, we feel very comfortable with TPG’s expertise in the high school athletics marketing space.”
“It seems like yesterday, but is was 2004, that I met with James Companion and Bill Ihlenfeld to listen to them pitch their dream: a marketing company to help financially support the OVAC. While skeptical as to its ability to succeed, we decided to give them a chance, and the rest is history,” former OVAC Executive Director Tom Rataiczak, who retired earlier this year, said. “Over the past fifteen years, Scholastic Sports Marketing has allowed the Conference to create programs we never dreamed of, support Championships and All-Star contests that are second to none and develop strong relationships with our marketing partners.”
“There is no doubt in my mind that this was one of the best decisions we ever made. And then, another sit-down with James to listen to him pitch yet another dream: Teall Properties Group. And once again, we made a wise partnership,” Rataiczak added. “The future of the OVAC, partnered with the efforts of TPG, will secure the success of the Conference for years to come, allowing us to give our schools and student-athletes the opportunities they so richly deserve.”
Founded in 2004, Scholastic Sports Marketing emerged as one of America’s fastest growing high school multimedia and marketing management companies. Scholastic Sports Marketing’s mission was to enhance the overall experience for high school student-athletes by developing new revenue streams while fostering the image and awareness level of the athletic events, conferences and institutions in which they participate. The company represented some of the nation’s top scholastic properties including the nationally televised Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, large athletic conferences, state associations and some of the most prominent high schools in the country.
About OVAC
The OVAC is a private non-profit voluntary interscholastic athletic league of 52-member high schools covering 20 counties in Ohio and West Virginia. The counties are Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Monongalia, Ohio, Tyler, Wetzel, Wood, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Tuscarawas, and Washington. Each school year, the Conference sponsors 77 champions across its sports. The OVAC is online at ovac.org.
About TPG
Teall Capital created its TPG division in 2018 to serve as Teall Capital’s arm for the high school market. TPG believes in the high school student-athlete experience and how it positively shapes our next generation. It is our mission to support this cause by connecting its community to organizations and brands that share in this belief.
About Teall Capital Partners
Teall Capital is a privately held set of investments in innovative, high-growth potential lifestyle brands, experiences and services. The company’s leadership has extensive experience in sports, media, marketing, and entertainment, and the group provides its operating companies deep expertise in a number of disciplines: corporate strategy, organizational management, culture and training, financial strategy, employee operations, recruiting, and expert legal diligence.
Teall Capital is led by Ben C. Sutton, Jr. and an executive management team that built and expanded four national market-leading businesses in the college sports space: IMG College Multimedia, IMG College Seating, IMG College Licensing, and IMG Learfield Ticketing. Teall invests in complementary organizations that can strategically work together to realize greater value, sharing in expertise, thought leadership, and networks.
For more information, please visit TeallCapital.com.
News media contact
Steve Bumgarner
336.722.9660 office or 336.403.0955 mobile
steve@nullcapturevalue.com
