By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
It was billed as a major announcement for the Independence Bowl and on the surface, it might not seem like it quite reached that level.
“We are folding” – now THAT would have been a major announcement.
“We are now part of the College Football Playoff rotation” – OK, now that’s something no one would have expected.
But to hear that Radiance Technologies will be continuing its sponsorship of the Independence Bowl through 2027 doesn’t seem to be exactly earth-shattering news.
That’s when you have to get past all of the contract-ese and what the lawyers have signed off on.
After 2027, there are three one-year options to continue the deal. And while some might point to that as a potential exit strategy, the words that Radiance CEO Bill Bailey told Tuesday’s gathering suggested anything but.
“Look, the whole perspective when you look at ROI (return on investment) with what we hope to accomplish with the bowl has exceeded our expectations,” Bailey said. “It’s met every requirement we’ve had as a sponsor. It’s been a very good decision for us.”
As for the one-year options after 2027, Bailey brought it home even more emphatically: “We fully intend to do this for the next five years.”
Bailey recognized that even though things seem to have settled down a little bit in college football circles, if recent history has taught us anything, it’s that the landscape can change quickly.
Consider that when Radiance Technologies first began its sponsorship in 2020, Texas and Oklahoma were in the Big 12 and there was such a thing as a real-life Pac 12 (with an I-Bowl tie-in).
And that first game as bowl sponsor that year? There was no game, thanks to COVID.
“In light of all the conference re-alignment, there may be a need to re-evaluate our deal,” Bailey said. “It’s not because we aren’t willing to do a five-year commitment. It’s because we believe there really needs to be an opportunity to look at it after two years after the current alignments have been completed and make sure that it is fair to both of us and the value is what it should be.”
Bailey said Radiance has gone from a $200 million company to a $500 million company. Monday, it announced plans to build a $370 million facility in Ruston.
Its No. 1 client? The United States Army.
No. 2? “The Air Force, and you’ve got a four-star command over here (at Barksdale),” Bailey said. “So let’s be honest: The Independence Bowl kind of resonates in the bowl title for a defense contractor. So the (positives) on this have been tremendous.”
It wasn’t insignificant that the two teams that played in last year’s bowl were Army and Bailey’s alma mater, Louisiana Tech.
Should Radiance Technologies continue through 2030, it would become the longest continuous sponsor of the Independence Bowl. Long enough to make you forget the Duck Commander fiasco of 2014.
“Radiance Technologies has been a tremendous title sponsor,” said bowl chair Sarah Giglio. “Radiance and Bill Bailey care very deeply about not only the Independence Bowl but the Shreveport-Bossier area and Northwest Louisiana.”
“It’s got to be a win-win,” Bailey said. “It’s been a win-win so far and based on how it lines up again, we need the opportunity to make sure it’s a win-win for everybody.”
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com