The day after the Ateneo Blue Eagles won the Season 71 men’s bas- ketball championship, the phone lines at the University Athletics Office rang non- stop. The callers were of the local and long distance sort: from the National Capital Re- gion to the far-flung islands of the Philippine archipelago, to the different time zones of Asia and North America.
“The calls were inquiries about tryouts for the Ateneo men’s basketball team,” says Emmanuel Fernandez, Ateneo’s assistant athletics director.
“Everyone just wanted to join the team,” he says. “It isn’t solely winning a title but also because they appear in various media and are identi- fied with a global brand such as Adidas. And that makes them very visible and desir- able as an ambition.”
While Ateneo may be on top of the basketball pole in different ways, the other member schools of the UAAP have also been beneficiaries of the league’s success.
National University’s Board Representative Robert Paguia reported a modest increase in enrollment–an ac- cepted barometer of a school’s successful athletic program– this school year ‘09-‘10 even if its Bulldogs finished at the bottom of the basketball standings last year.
“Apartofithastodo with the enhanced image of NU when the Sys (of Shoe Mart fame) bought the school. Plus, seeing the sports teams on television is always attrac- tive,” says the longtime NU administrator. “That is why the basketball program is being built up to acceptable standards.”
If it is fashionable for bil- lionaires to purchase football teams in the English Premier League, in the Philippines, taipans buy into the UAAP schools (see Lucio Tan with the University of the East and Henry Sy with NU). “We got into education because we be- lieve that we can play a major role in developing our youth for tomorrow,” said Hans Sy of SM Prime Holdings, the new owner of the Sampaloc- based university.
And it doesn’t stop there. Far Eastern University’s An- ton Montinola intimated that there have been inquiries by other schools about joining the UAAP. “I like to think that we have been doing something good and others want to be a part of that.”
The big ticket
For all the headline news and twitter about the UAAP games, there was a time when you could walk up to the ticket booth at the already ancient Rizal Memorial Coliseum on game day and secure seats with a great view of the on-court action. However, those days weren’t exactly great from a commercial standpoint.
There was hardly television coverage. There was none of the merchandise that is the norm and fashion today for every rabid fan. And there was certainly no cheering competition for the only ones who trooped to the court dur- ing halftime was Ateneo. In fact, if you spoke of forming pyramids, that didn’t mean a routine formed by cheer dancers and lifters but Johnny Midnight and toning.
Johnny who? Toning what?
Exactly.
Today it’s a mad scram- ble to procure tickets more so during the annual Ateneo-La Salle games, the Final Four, and the Finals where anyone who secures a ticket is akin to finding one of Willy Wonka’s Golden Tickets.
And ticket sales have also been beneficial for each school. “A school receives 25% of all tickets sold so you can imagine what goes back to a school like ours,” says Ateneo’s University Athletics Director Richard Palou.
The league’s ticket sales trump those of other colle- giate competitions, says Mon- tinola. “That’s why the games are increasingly held at the Araneta Coliseum because of its bigger capacity. “
The high-profile nature of the basketball games also has a great effect on the for- tunes of its players.
Before the lure of fat tele- vision contracts and endorse- ments galore, the UAAP fed the national teams and pro ranks with its players. In fact, a look at the national teams of the 80s and 90s revealed many of its members coming from the junior circuit (the rival NCAA is older but is perceived to be less glamorous). “The high profile nature of the UAAP is perhaps the biggest recruiting tool we have,” says Montinola, who also admitted that having four of his former and current Tamaraws on the Smart Gilas Philippine National Team as being added publicity.
The basketball conundrum
Yet if there has been anything golden about the UAAP, it has been the ten- year partnership between the league and broadcast giant ABS-CBN.
“The partnership has been mutually beneficial. Commercialization has made it easier to get sponsors for the school and its athletic programs,” says Palou. He adds that the league receives P 65 M that is used to subsidize other athletic competitions and programs.
Adds Fernandez, “Com- mercialization has been good because in the case of Adidas, we receive uniforms and equipment for all our teams that would otherwise be too costly for the university to provide.”
While it is perceived that basketball receives far too much attention than other sports, the irony of it all is that along with volleyball that has become increasingly popular, it funds all other athletic competitions and events of the league.
Paguia says, “We insist- ed that it be in our contract with our television carrier that it not just be basketball but other sports especially volleyball and football.”
Just as the windfall from basketball helps other UAAP sports, it also supports ABS-CBN’s other sports programs.
A sales person from ABS-CBN, who refused to be identified, says, “The UAAP is the primary cash cow of ABS-CBN Sports helping it to support the coverage of other sports events.” He says that although sponsorships lessened this year, revenues still hit over P100 M.
“It is safe to say that without the UAAP, ABS-CBN would not have a sports de- partment,” says the source.
The success of the league has also spawned an industry of websites, blogs, and
t-shirt businesses where expressions of school spirit are proudly emblazoned in front. In Ateneo alone, there have been three major players in Get Blued, Blue Crew, and OGBD.
“Your school [Ateneo] is a huge market in terms of sales and following,” explained former Blue Eagle Mike Baldos, one of the owners of Blue Crew. “It helps that we are composed of former and current players and when the team runs to the floor for warm-ups, people watching on television see them wearing the shirts.”
“That’s school spirit,” says Palou. “That’s a follow- ing that you will have for life unlike professional teams with the notable exception of Ginebra San Miguel whose following is nationwide. But in many ways, the UAAP has begun to rival and even surpass the PBA. Let’s just say that it’s neck-and-neck at this point.”
Says Dianne, a student in the Ateneo, “For three months [the UAAP basket- ball season], I have to juggle watching the games with my studies. I also have to man- age my time and [budget] my allowance buying t-shirts and magazines. And there’s the matter of tickets that is always difficult. Being a fan is never easy.”
Ateneo Alumni Associa- tion President Mike Valencia agrees. “You wait for a year for three months of UAAP basketball and you’re fix- ated in that time. Even work takes a backseat. Then when the season is done, you ask yourself, ‘So what do I focus on now?’”
Pandora’s box
Collectively, league officials believe that the UAAP’s commercialization is good for the league since it drives fans, following, and hype. “The negative aspect here is when some sponsors ask for execu- tions of their sponsorships in a particularly tasteless manner because it cheapens the league,” said the source at ABS-CBN.
The crass commercialism aside, the popularity of the league has seen it beset with allegations of game fixing, point shaving, and a win at all costs mentality that purport- edly drives some schools.
“Success comes at a price and we have to be vigilant. One of our biggest concerns is scalping,” pointed out Palou.
“That is why this year we have experimented by separating the other matches from the Ateneo-La Salle games and have the different playing days for the Final Four. That should drive down somewhat the prices of scalped tickets.”
As for game fixing and point shaving, the league is vigilant on these allegations but its officials confess that it’s hard to prove. Current UAAP Commissioner and former Ateneo Blue Eagles Head Coach Joe Lipa says, “You can’t see it but you can smell it.”
Apparently, when it comes to the Ateneo, people everywhere can smell opportunity and even a winner. The team–most especially the basketball team–has become a brand. “It’s also become an aspiration for many,” beamed Palou who once played for Ateneo winning an NCAA title way back in 1969. He motioned to hold that thought. There was a phone call. It was from an athlete who was inquiring about trying out for the Blue Eagles. He grinned from ear to ear.
Editor’s note: This article was contributed by Rick Olivares, an alumnus, prolific writer, and true sports fan. Read more of his work at bleachersbrew.blogspot.com.
