By: Donald V. Watkins
October 30, 2022
An Editorial Opinion
My October 22, 2022 Open Letter to Deion Sanders has already broken one record on my website. It surpassed 31,000 readers in just one week. This viewership is the highest number of readers of any article published on my website in a one-week period.
The Open Letter is on track to surpass my December 27, 2019 article titled: "The Rothschilds: Controlling the World's Money Supply for More Than Two Centuries." The Rothschilds article, which is all about the accumulation of money, wealth, and power, has been viewed by 228,547 readers, as of October 29, 2022.
It is obvious that Deion Sanders' work at Jackson State University has touched the hearts of the African-American community nationwide. The analytical reports that I get regarding each article published on my website indicate that the Open Letter to Deion Sanders has worldwide appeal, as well.
The Commercialization of Fame
Jackson State University is in a very unique position within NCAA college sports with Deion Sanders heading its championship football program. Coach Sanders is a branding and marketing expert who understands the world of big-money and the commercialization of fame.
What is more, Sanders is not afraid to chase big-time NCAA and corporate sponsorship money for the benefit of his football program, Jackson State University and the Southwestern Athletic Conference, his coaches, and himself.
College sports generate $19 billion per year. A breakdown of this money for 2019 appears in the pie chart that accompanies this article. This pie chart is not hard to read or understand. College sports revenues for 2023 and beyond are expected to exceed $19 billion per year.
Deion Sanders is on his way to making sure that Jackson State University gets its fair share of pie chart money in this multi-billion dollar industry. He is aggressively promoting his football program, Jackson State University, the SWAC, and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across America on a non-stop basis. This is a good thing for all of America.
Other HBCUs should step up their game and do the same.
Division I-A Status for JSU Football?
I am hoping that Deion Sanders leads Jackson State University to Division I-A status in football. Jackson State could be to black America what Notre Dame is to Catholic America.
Sanders has the clout within the international corporate community to get major financial partners for a stadium on Jackson State's campus that meets Division 1-A standards. Jackson State has already established the attendance records necessary to support Wall Street financing of an on-campus stadium.
With Sanders leading the charge, I am highly confident that the University can secure enough qualified and capable corporate donors to cover the entire stadium financing costs. The University should not depend on funding from the state of Mississippi for this endeavor.
No HBCU has tried to move up to Division I-A in football since Alabama State University made an initial effort in May of 2000. ASU abandoned its efforts two years later solely because blacks in and around Montgomery and Alabama did not believe that the University was capable of performing at this level.
Deion Sanders has proven the fallacy of this kind of small-minded thinking and defeatist attitude.
Looking Ahead
College sports is big business. It about time that HBCUs enter the NCAA's big-money zone and compete for their fair share of the college sports dollars.
Looking ahead, I expect that Deion Sanders and Jackson State University will be the ones lead the way to this proverbial "Promised Land."
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