A&M VP Jason Cook talks Heisman worth, licensing trends & more

Highlights from Jason Cook interview

* The 2012 season exceeded everyone’s expectations. One of his favorite things about the end of the season was the old tweets and articles being rehashed that stated it would take A&M a long time to compete in the SEC.

* It’s truly remarkable that the SEC has won seven straight national championships. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive has been quoted as saying this is the golden age of the conference, and that the conference is only getting stronger.

* This year has been based on a perfect storm of three things: moving to the SEC, Kevin Sumlin and a transcendent football player in Johnny Manziel. None of those things can be separated from each other, and A&M was truly lucky that the pieces fit together so well.

* Joyce Julius and Associates are conducting a media valuation of what Manziel’s Heisman victory meant to A&M monetarily. ESPN reported that the Heisman weekend was worth 50 million dollars alone, but A&M has decided to look at the numbers back to the victory over Alabama when the Heisman ball really got going.

* The ultimate goal is to protect the ‘Johnny Football’ name right now and into the future. There is only one authorized Johnny Football item, a t-shirt, and everything else is unauthorized and illegal. The university has an obligation to protect Manziel’s NCAA eligibility by forcing unauthorized products to cease in the market place and with the Manziel family has sent over 300 cease and desist letters as of late December.

* A&M’s licensing numbers are trending up, but the full impact of the Heisman and the inaugural season in the SEC won’t be seen for another quarter. A&M ranked 14th in licensing revenues last quarter and is aiming to be in the top 10 by 2014.

* Right now, retail inventory is extremely low because retailers did not buy heavy in the fall. However, spring orders should hit stores in February and will include more #2 jerseys in both adult and youth sizes. A&M is working with other licensees outside of Adidas to meet the current demand.

* He believes that it has been pretty obvious that the university is not going to discuss coaching contracts and salaries on message boards or in the media. The university realizes the success that A&M has had in the SEC and they also realize the demand that is currently out there for coaches, but the contract discussions are not something that will be played over in the media.

* The A&M-Alabama game on September 14, 2013 is one that will be very attractive to the folks at College GameDay. However, people need to remember that CBS’ headlining game is played at 2:30, and shouldn’t be upset if the game is not played at night.

* Marketing phase one of the Kyle Field renovation will take a big effort. Eric Hyman has said that this will be the most significant construction project in the history of college football, so there will be a lot of work that will take place. The discussions are ongoing, but the university has great partners on board including Populous and Mahattan-Vaughn Construction.