An ESPN Bet primer; The surprising choice of the CFP's new leader; Legends doubles down in college and saying goodbye to the well-respected Mike Hamilton
Good morning. This is your morning Buzzcast for Tuesday, November 14th. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. Well, get ready for ESPM Bet. Penn Entertainment will launch ESPN BET in 17 states today, hoping to break through this already crowded sports betting market. This is a big effort as Penn Entertainment will pay ESPN $2 billion over the next 10 years to rebrand its online and brick and mortar operation, which was known as Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN BET. So what can you expect to see? Well, you'll see content integration. Some of it started last night, pretty subtle, on Monday Night Countdown, and you'll see a lot of advertising. You will not be able to miss this ESPN BET effort.
One element that my colleague, Bill King, wrote about in this week's SBJ was about maintaining editorial integrity and ease the concerns of gambling regulators who typically ban sportsbook employees from recommending bets. So how will ESPN get around this or handle this? Well, Bill King reported that N has created guidelines around who can make picks on air and promote them on ESPN BET. So don't expect any insiders like Woj or Schefter to be able to do this, but you could see the likes of Scott Van Pelt or L Duncan, who could appear on an ESPN BET ad campaign and promote their picks within the app.
So what is the goal? The goal here is to gain market share as ESPN BET currently is hovering at about 3% of overall market share, far behind FanDuel and DraftKings, who both have just over about a third of the marketplace. So that is the bet, that ESPN's reach and exposure will help ESPN BET grow market share and compete with the bigger sports betting companies.
Let's move on. It was interesting hearing General Richard Clarke meet the media yesterday. He will, of course, succeed Bill Hancock as the new leader of the CFP. Now, Bill Hancock said the timeline for a transition is still being finalized, but that Hancock plans to stay in the role for much of next year, 2024. Now, no doubt about it, Richard Clarke is seen as a surprise selection. He said the job wasn't even on his radar until the search firm, Parker and Associates, reached out to him. He had never worked in college sports. He had never worked in sports. He had a lengthy career in the Air Force, but he said this opportunity to be part of something as big as this for the country was very attractive and almost unimaginable to him.
In outlining the selection, members of the selection committee kept coming back to Clarke's leadership experience, and they were easily drawn by the strong leader being the advocate and face of college football. I believe that at the end of the day was the difference in them naming Richard Clarke as the new head of the CFP.
Let's stay with college sports. There is so much going on in the college space. So many new businesses are being launched because so many see opportunity. One company doubling down on college, Legends, which has launched a new college division, which will provide more resources and a greater range of services for the firm's college clients. Now, the division will be called Legends College. It will be led by Mike Behan, who is a longtime Legends executive, who has focused on college relationships. He's very, very well-known in the collegiate space. He has shepherded Legends' work in college working with clients like USC, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and others. In the past, Mike Behan has focused on advising schools on major facility projects and revenue tied to premium seating. Now, Legends will look to provide services across a range of college issues and they will face a competitive marketplace. Learfield is in the space, Playfly is in the Space. Legends College believes there is enough room for them and there's enough business out there. Mike Behan reports to Mike Tomon, Legends' chief operating officer and co-president for the overall business.
Let's stay with college sports because a big change at a marquee school. Arizona State Athletic director, Ray Anderson has resigned, and ASU's senior vice president, Jim Run, will serve as interim athletic director. Now, Ray Anderson, no stranger to sports. He was an agent. He worked at the NFL. He was named athletic director at ASU in 2014, so he's been at AD for nine years. The last time I saw him, I could tell the job was really getting to him. So much change at college sports and he seemed almost frustrated by it all, and the school was moving from the PAC 12 to the Big 12 next year, and it hasn't been a smooth ride for Ray Anderson, who has three years left on his contract when he resigned yesterday.
He's been really under criticism since the hiring of former football coach, Herm Edwards, who he had a longstanding relationship with. He dismissed Edwards in 2022 and there was a cloud of NCAA investigations over the program. There have been a lot of calls from fans calling for Ray Anderson to step down, and he acknowledged all these challenges in his retirement statement on Monday, saying the magnitude of changes in the college sports landscape were just astounding. And as he approaches 70 years old, he said that, "These are not matters that my leadership would be able to corral during my tenure."
So to me, he basically said, there is so much going on, it's time for new leadership, and this will be a sought after job. It's not an easy job as a new athletic director will have to handle the transition from the PAC 12 to the Big 12. ASU President Michael Crow is known to be very active in athletics, so you'd have a president who cares and gets involved, and you need to get football right as the football program is really working to recover from the issues left behind by Herm Edwards, who of course left last year. But this job, there'll be a lot of names looking to fill Ray Anderson's post at Arizona State.
We'll move on from college sports. One of the more intriguing investments in sports these days, Minor League Baseball. The valuations continue to increase and it's turning into a very sophisticated business with real revenue growth. So there is one franchise sale that you're going to want to keep your eye on because it'll be a very interesting test to the valuation of Minor League Baseball teams. Larry Lucchino is actively looking to sell the AAA Worcester Red Sox, and then the 78-year-old Lucchino plans to retire. He said that the ownership group has been talking to various people for many months trying to find a local owner to buy the team.
Now, he did not put a timetable on the deal. It could happen, he said, within six weeks, six months or six years. Now, a source said the team could sell for close to $70 million or even more. That's a very healthy purchase price. Now, one possible suitor could be Diamond Baseball Holdings. They own the Red Sox single and AA teams. They've made a previous bid for the Worcester Red Sox and they of course have been acquiring a number of Minor League teams. But remember, this team is set up for a good sale price. They have a great affiliation with the Red Sox, they're close to Boston, and they have a new ballpark as they just opened the Polar Park, a $159 million new facility, just a few years ago in downtown Worcester, so I'm keeping my eye on who could buy the Worcester Red Sox.
I hate to end on a sad note, but one of the truly respected leaders of college sports, former Tennessee athletic director, Mike Hamilton, passed away Friday at 60 years old. He had been battling cancer. He was in line to receive a liver transplant. Just didn't get it and just didn't make it. Mike Hamilton, as kind, as humble, as smart, a leader as you would like to see. Just a good person. He went to Clemson, worked at Wake Forest before going to Tennessee where he spent nearly two decades. He was athletic director from 2003 to 2011. He joined Learfield in 2018 where he brought a ton of relationships to help grow that business, and he also produced great regular podcasts about sitting in the chair of the athletic director and all the challenges they face.
He also spent so much of his time doing charitable work and helping others. I felt fortunate to be with him in January at Marco Island. We spent time together. We were on a panel together at the NACTA winter meetings, and he had such an impact on everyone. After the panel, everyone was waiting in line to talk to Mike Hamilton. He was a mentor to so many. There were no errors about him. He showed kindness every step of the way. Mike Hamilton, gone too soon at the age of 60.
I will be in New York for meetings tomorrow and then I'll be in Vermont for my brother's funeral service on Saturday. My brother Mark Madkour died recently at the young age of 63. I appreciate so many of you who have reached out and provided acts of kindness during this sad time. It's great to see this community of Buzzcast listeners, and your responses to Mark's passing have been incredibly gratifying and it's greatly appreciated. We will certainly celebrate my brother Mark's inspiring life this weekend, so thank you for all you've done.
And that is your morning buzz cast for Tuesday, November 14th. I'll be out of pocket for a few days. I'll return on Monday. Until then, stay healthy, be good to each other. Have a great rest of your week.