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Athletic director Julie Hermann sees the sponsorship deal with IMG College as taking the Rutgers brand to the next level.

(William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

Rutgers isn’t moving to the Big Ten Conference until 2014, but that isn’t stopping the university from increasing its footprint across all platforms.

In the latest step toward broadening its scope before its big move to the new league, the Rutgers athletic department announced a new multimedia rights and sponsorship deal worth nearly $6 million annually. The 11-year, $65 million deal will partner the university’s athletic programs with collegiate marketing giant IMG College and put Rutgers firmly in the realm of its future rivals, ideally boosting brand recognition and attracting new national and corporate support.

"Rutgers has been struggling — with the Big East — in terms of gaining exposure, gaining sponsorships," sports media rights expert Lee Berke said Wednesday. "There’s a reason why you move to the Big Ten. A large piece of it is that it enhances the value of everything you do. There’s a reason why it’s ‘big.’ And this is one of the big benefits you get from it."

With the athletic department still operating at a deficit — requiring nearly $28 million in subsidized money last year — the new IMG deal will likely help Rutgers athletics push toward its goal of being financially self-sufficient. In May, university president Robert Barchi said he could see the athletics program "moving to budget neutrality in six years."

The IMG deal also has an option that Rutgers can exercise to extend it by as many as 14 years (or through the 2026-27 year), with a guarantee of more than $87 million.

"As we transition to the Big Ten Conference, it is essential that we maximize sponsorship opportunities and exposure to grow the Rutgers brand," Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann said in a statement Wednesday. "IMG College’s global resources will help take our brand to the next level by engaging new sponsors and expanding our revenue base."

Both the current deal and the option to extend include revenue-sharing opportunities, which could elevate the total value of the deal. Between that influx of money and what Rutgers is set to begin receiving after its six-year wait period upon joining the Big Ten from the Big Ten Network revenue stream, the school’s athletic department believes its subsidies will disappear.

The deal with IMG also puts Rutgers in some heady company as it enters its new conference.

IMG College — which represents the media and sponsorship rights to nearly 100 universities across the country — already has deals with Big Ten stalwarts Michigan and Ohio State, in addition to the Rose Bowl. It also holds the rights to Nebraska, which joined the conference in 2011. IMG also has deals with Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida State, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Syracuse and Duke.

Inking the new deal with IMG College comes nearly four months after former athletic director Tim Pernetti severed Rutgers’ existing contract with Nelligan Sports Marketing. The 13-year relationship with Nelligan, based in Little Falls, had four years remaining on a 13-year, $40 million deal. The buyout, which was one of the final acts Pernetti completed before resigning in the wake of the Mike Rice abuse scandal in April, cost Rutgers $7 million.

A factor in Rutgers’ separation from Nelligan — which had been orchestrated by Pernetti’s predecessor, Bob Mulcahy — was what the school was making from the deal.

Even though the contract was set to earn Rutgers slightly more than $3 million per year, multiple individuals said that the school was only netting around $1.2 million. The individuals asked for anonymity because they are not authorized to speak for the school on such matters. Part of the reason for the low take-home for Rutgers with Nelligan was that the money in the contract was not guaranteed.

Under its new deal with IMG, the money is guaranteed. That is expected to boost Rutgers’ strength heading into its first season in the Big Ten.

One person with knowledge of the deal, described that guaranteed money from IMG as "a game changer."

"You’re probably going to find more and better sponsors going forward," said Berke. "And in turn, they will be asking more of the university. More of the sports, in terms of activities and sponsorships. It’s going to place more demands because they’re investing more dollars. But that’s the trade off. That’s why you’re getting this guarantee from IMG."

With Rutgers now firmly entrenched alongside its more established brethren inside the Big Ten Conference in terms of media exposure, the school expects to see a rise in its profile. But as for the day-to-day and game-to-game impact having IMG in house will have over Nelligan, it will be minimal.

But that’s not why Rutgers made the move.

It was to take advantage of a unique opportunity. And maximize it.

"There’s relatively few multimedia agencies out there," Berke said. "You’re seeing in some markets — with USC, for example, which is utilizing Fox as their agency. When it comes to multimedia agencies, there’s only a couple of large ones: there’s IMG and there’s Learfield. And then there’s Nelligan, which is somewhat smaller. ... But yeah, if you’re rising up in the world, you’re going to rise up to the top agencies to represent you."