New Vision Sports Announces MEAC's Historically Black Colleges and Russell Corporation Complete the Largest Sponsorship Agreement in Black College History.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- African-American-owned New Vision Sports Properties announced today that it has negotiated an agreement between nine institutions from the historically black Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Russell Corporation that will serve as the basis for an exclusive, first-of-its-kind licensing alliance. The partnership also involves the previously announced agreements with the historically black Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

In April, New Vision Sports negotiated an agreement with Russell Corporation on behalf of the SIAC and SWAC that kicked-off the partnership. Beginning with this fall's football season, the institutions from the MEAC, as well as the SIAC and SWAC conferences, will grant a five-year exclusive license to Russell to manufacture and sell the merchandise of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) comprising the conferences. As part of the agreement, Russell will provide the conferences with royalties on the sales of apparel licensed through the institutions. Russell will also supply the institutions with uniforms, performance and casual apparel, and athletic equipment.

"This is a win-win for Russell Corporation and our participating institutions," says MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas. "We are elated to know that a company of Russell's stature understands the economic value of our universities. This kind of corporate partnership was long overdue and we respect Russell for taking the leadership position and having the financial vision and courage to execute it. Given today's athletic market place, it is important to open up additional revenue streams and this partnership affords this."

Athletic programs from the three conferences included in the agreement are men's and women's basketball, soccer, football, baseball, softball and volleyball.

"We are pleased to reach an agreement with the MEAC that we believe will be beneficial to the conference, the universities involved and to our business," said Jon Letzler, Russell Corporation president and COO. "In addition to the uniforms and equipment for their various sports teams, we will also be providing licensed product for their college bookstores and working with them on potential retail opportunities."

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, an NCAA Division I Conference, is located in Greensboro, NC and has produced some of the sporting world's most famous student athletes, including such legendary names as Althea Gibson, Art Shell, Bob Hayes, Deacon Jones, Harry Carson, John Taylor, Marquis Grissom and Willie Lanier, among others.

The nine outstanding, historically black institutions benefiting from this agreement include Bethune-Cookman College, Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University and South Carolina State University.

New Vision Sports Properties of Oakland, California is a full service sports marketing company that specializes in selling, executing and servicing major corporate partnerships. In it's first year of representing the MEAC, SIAC and SWAC as a group, New Vision has aggressively implemented a multi-faceted sports marketing program that has generated huge dividends for the universities in the form of a newly created and extensive television deal and a new merchandise/retail program. As part of its newly created corporate partnerships for the conferences, New Vision has produced relationships with three Fortune 500 companies. http://newvisionsports.net