MSU department head chronicles the rise of marketing in the NCAA and big-time athletics

A department head in the College of Education at MSU chronicles the rise of collegiate sports marketing alongside Jim Host, founder of Host Communications.

Published this month by University of Press of Kentucky, “Changing the Game: My Career in Collegiate Sports Marketing” is co-authored by Eric Moyen, associate professor and head of MSU’s educational leadership department. The book is already ranked in Amazon’s best sellers in the sports industry category. Moyen previously authored “Frank L. McVey and the University of Kentucky: A Progressive President and the Modernization of a Southern University,” also published by the University Press of Kentucky.

“I wrote this book with Jim because I research university leadership and policy from a historical perspective, and I have learned that college presidents have to spend considerable time and attention to athletic matters,” Moyen explained. “I also knew that Jim Host was a leader and his entrepreneurship truly altered the financial landscape of intercollegiate athletics.”

“Changing the Game” details the life and career of Jim Host, founder and CEO of Host Communications (HCI). HCI was a pioneer in the college sports marketing industry. Host’s company was the first to introduce the idea of “bundled rights” for sponsorships of individual university athletic programs. This led to a boom in revenue for athletic programs while allowing presidents to leverage athletics for the promotion of higher education. 

Host also helped transform the NCAA basketball tournament by introducing corporate partnerships, which allowed corporations to promote the tournament and their product at the same time. This model helped make “March Madness” the primary revenue generator for the NCAA.  At its zenith, Host Communications Inc. managed sports marketing for nearly thirty big-time athletics programs, including Mississippi State University. Among other topics, the new book includes details on Host’s interactions with President Don Zacharias and Athletic Director Larry Templeton in expanding the “brand” of MSU athletics. IMG purchased Host Communications Inc. in 2008. 

“This book is particularly timely because of the current name, image and likeness (NIL) debates across the country. If someone wants to understand how universities have arrived at this juncture, Jim Host’s story provides an important piece of context,” said Moyen.

“Changing the Game” is the first complete account of the entrepreneur's professional life, detailing his achievements in sports radio, management, and broadcasting; his time in minor league baseball, real estate, and the insurance business; and his foray into Kentucky politics, including his appointments under Kentucky governors Louie B. Nunn and Ernie Fletcher. The book provides a behind-the-scenes look at the growth of big-time athletics and offers solutions for current challenges facing college sports.

Moyen earned his bachelor’s degree from Taylor University in 1996 in social studies education, his master’s degree in United States history from the University of Alabama in 1998, and his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in educational policy studies with a concentration in high education in 2004. “Changing the Game” is available now.

Established in 1903, MSU’s College of Education is now home to six academic departments, one research unit and numerous service units. For more about the college, visit //www.educ.msstate.edu/.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu. 

MSU PHOTO ID: (Photo submitted)