Ballin’ for a budget

Daniella Tebib

News Editor

dtebib@murraystate.edu

Sophomore guard Ja Morant’s success has not only brought attention to Murray State men’s basketball, but has also helped the University financially.

Since Morant joined the team in 2017, the University has seen an increase in ticket sales, publicity and overall economic gain.

Shawn Touney, director of communication, said the team has had a major impact on Murray State’s advertising value equivalency.

“There’s about a six-week stretch from December 1 through roughly the third week of January where we had roughly $46 million in what they call an advertising value equivalency,” Touney said. “So, it was the amount of earned media, if you could put a dollar or figure on that, [which was] $46 million through mentions of Murray State University on TV, radio, newspaper, in just a seven-week timeframe.”

Touney also said this has been positive for Murray State’s alumni development, fundraising, recruitment efforts and students.

Martin Milkman, professor of economics, said the University is also receiving a lot of free publicity from the team’s success.

“Every time that we play, whether it’s home or away, we have some ads for Murray State so the University can get its name out there,” Milkman said. “This results long term in more applicants and enrollment at Murray State. I don’t know anybody who has been able to quantify that. But, I do know that at other schools, when they have tremendous success… they had a tremendous pickup in enrollment afterwards.”

Milkman said another way Morant and the team have impacted Murray State financially is through ticket sales.

Between the 2016-17 and 2018-19 basketball seasons, overall attendance has increased by 32,881 people, according to Murray State season statistics.

Not only has Murray State reaped benefits, but the city of Murray has also seen an impact.

“I think the city in general is getting benefits because some people come from out of town,” Milkman said. “A lot of them will spend the night, so our hotels are benefiting. Some people, even if they don’t spend the night, eat here. So, there is economic impact from that. They may also buy some souvenirs at the games, which directly impacts Murray State as well.”

Milkman said he believes if Murray State wins the OVC Tournament, the University can expect to see an even bigger financial impact.

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