Gridiron Goes To College

New York City-based MSL Sports and Entertainment’s Gridiron Bash will throw the biggest pep rally ever this spring by staging 17 concerts simultaneously in college stadiums across the country, many of which have never hosted a live music event.

The April 18th shows feature Fergie, Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, Fall Out Boy, Counting Crows, ZZ Top, Goo Goo Dolls, Dwight Yoakam, Taylor Swift, Montgomery Gentry, Good Charlotte, O.A.R. and Black Crowes, among others. Artists with a history in a given area will be paired with a corresponding school.

Participating schools so far include Penn State, University of Colorado, Texas A&M, Arizona State University, Rutgers, University of South Carolina and University of Tennessee.

MSL is also finalizing partnerships with a half dozen other schools including University of Maryland, University of Kentucky, University of Texas at El Paso and Auburn University.

Confirmed shows at press time included Fergie at Penn State, ZZ Top at Texas A&M, Counting Crows at University of Colorado and Goo Goo Dolls at Kansas State.

In addition to a live concert, each stadium will host a pep rally, introduction of next year’s respective football team roster, a chat with the head coach and autograph sessions with past school legends.

As an additional draw, the events will include the USA Today Bash for Cash competition, which gives fans a chance to earn money for their schools.

Winning schools will be determined by combining total attendance at Gridiron Bash with the number of fans who text/call in to vote for their schools. The top school will get a $1 million contribution to its general scholarship fund, with second and third place schools receiving $500,000 and $250,000 respectively.

MSL’s president, Shawn Garrity, and CEO Gary Cioffi said the event grew out of a desire by the schools to find a way to generate revenue from an annual tradition.

"The universities for some time have been trying to figure out how to do more with their spring football games," Garrity told Pollstar. "These games are starting to get big crowds. The University of Alabama got 92,500 people to their spring game last year, which is basically just a scrimmage with the football team against itself.

"There have been several other campuses who’ve had these big crowds, but they’ve never really been able to charge a gate [admission] for it because it is a scrimmage. They get parking and they get food and beverage, but they’ve never figured out how to monetize that crowd.

"So we combined the college bands, the cheerleaders and the fans with major artists like the ones on our list to have fans come for those two days. Friday it’s a celebration with a big concert and then Saturday you’ve got the spring game. A lot of campuses are making it a two-day ticketed package, where you’ll have the same seat both days."

Securing the talent for such an ambitious project might seem like a complicated task, but it turned out to be easier than anticipated.

"We went out to pitch each of the major agencies – CAA, Paradigm, William Morris," Cioffi told Pollstar. "We found ourselves a representative there that we could pitch this to and they all liked the idea. They thought it would be great for the artists. They thought it would be great for football.

"Plus, they realized it was an evergreen opportunity we were talking to them about. Next year we’ll be looking at booking another 25 or 30 artists."

Another potential holdup was each school’s athletic department, which carries a lot of weight in decisions regarding use of facilities. Garrity said although promises had to be made regarding protection of the venues, one consideration helped sway the decision in many cases.

"Athletic departments really have to endure the same problem the music industry does," he said. "It’s no secret the music industry is challenged right now trying to find its true model.

"The same thing happens on these college campuses. You see USC with a big bowl game and you see how much money they’re making, you assume the athletic department is just overwhelmed with money – and they’re not. Actually these athletic departments operate in the red," Garrity said.

"As we went to the campuses, there definitely was a learning curve to get them educated on what we’re doing but we do have a background in sports. We have people who’ve been ADs on campus for many years and MSL has serviced many of these universities on the football side. So we did have a good beginning credibility there.

"But this is hallowed ground. The only things that hit these fields are no larger than a tuba. Penn State is a good example. I played football at Syracuse from ’82 to ’86. When we played at Penn State, you’d do your walkthrough on Friday and we had to practice on a secondary field," Garrity explained.

"We really have done a lot of homework on protecting the fields. We’re going with these modular stageline units that are very proven in football arenas and are quick in and noninvasive.

"It’s funny. Some of the booking agents commented to us that they’d never seen technical riders this detailed and specific. We literally called out every inch of how this is done.

"If you look at these college campuses, the major acts aren’t getting onto these college campuses as often as they used to. Student affairs used to underwrite these budgets with these [tours] with 30 tractor trailers coming in for four dates and basically use it as a recruitment tool. But that got shut down a while back."

Garrity said the schools will receive all parking, food and beverage sales, a share of merchandising, a guarantee on the event regardless of attendance and additional revenue for attendance of more than 40,000.

One thing MSL won’t be bringing in is sound equipment. Technical advances in the past few years have made it possible to do a quality show using existing equipment.

"The supporting Jumbotrons and sound systems at these major universities we’re going to are concert quality," Garrity said. "So that really does reduce the requirements of what you used to have to truck in to create that environment.

"And with the wireless side of this – the Jumbotron, the texting, the fan voting – we think this is what fans are looking for in their sports and in their music. It personalizes the experience."

The original goal was 15 schools, but MSL has been able to expand it to 21. Because of scheduling conflicts four of the schools will hold their events on a day other than April 18th.

The company also has plans for a Fall Rivalry Tour. Each weekend starting with the regular football season, MSL will choose a school playing a major rival and hold an event the Friday before the game. Garrity estimates the tour will hit 13 to 15 schools, plus championship games.