UMKC has promised to spend a minimum of $3.4 million in partnerships with Kansas City professional sports teams over the next four years. These deals are aimed at promoting the school and offering unique experiences for some students.
These contracts name UMKC as the official higher education partner for the Kansas City Chiefs, Royals, Current and Sporting KC. The contracts range from a high of $1.8 million for the five-year Chiefs contract to a low of $323,000 for the three-year deal with Sporting KC.
Roo News obtained these contracts through a Missouri Sunshine Law request. They specify marketing benefits from signage deals for permanent and temporary displays of the UMKC logo. Other benefits include commercials, photo opportunities and screen time on stadium scoreboards.
Rachel Waller, UMKC chief marketing strategist, said the school has several goals for the partnerships, including creating meaningful opportunities for students, fortifying the Kansas City community around UMKC and promoting the university’s educational offerings.
“With our long history of being embedded in the community and being a major player in the civic life of the city, it’s hard to imagine many universities who could do what we are doing,” Waller said.
Though some of the student benefits outlined in these contracts are elusive to prove, others have already made a big impact for a portion of the UMKC student body.
Chloe Schumyn, a junior biology, chemistry and psychology major, received a $1,500 Chiefs Kingdom Spirit Scholarship and was one of several students recognized on-field at a preseason game with Chancellor Agrawal and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. Schumyn described it as a “one-of-a-kind experience” that also allows her to pay for her schooling.
UMKC’s total of $3.8 million is a comparable number to other university and professional sports partnerships in the area.
The University of Missouri – St. Louis has a $2.7 million partnership with its local MLS club, St. Louis CITY SC. The agreement began in 2023, CITY SC’s inaugural season, and runs through 2027.
Texas Tech University, another higher education partner with the Kansas City Chiefs, has a $6.5 million contract that began in 2021 and runs through 2028, with an extra $3.5 million added if the contract is extended through the 2030 season.
Grace Bowles, a UMKC junior majoring in Music/Film and Media Arts, does not agree with the partnerships’ benefits. She believes these contracts are “definitely a problem.”
“I feel as though these contracts exist to boost the appeal of the school to the outsider,” said Bowles. “The contracts bring students in and make more money in general rather than caring about students that already attend the school and are paying the cost of the contracts in tuition.”
Like Bowles, 21-year-old Caleb Eason, a UMKC majoring in Urban Planning and Design, said the only student benefit he anticipates from the partnerships is a discount on ticket pricing. Eason said he also doesn’t like UMKC using general fund money on the contracts.
“I don’t believe the cost-to-benefit ratio for students is fair when considering the price of tuition,” he said. “I don’t believe these costly contracts contribute at all to the quality of my education here at UMKC.”
UMKC Chancellor Mauli Agrawal said the partnerships benefit the school in two ways: first, co-branding and advertising, and second, scholarships and internships. The Chiefs instigated its partnership when the team reached out to UMKC, he said.
“As we were going through the presentations, the Chiefs were the ones who showed us, ‘Kansas City’s university, Kansas City’s teams,’ and we saw that,” said Agrawal.
Agrawal said the target audience for these partnerships are “young folks.” The partnerships also allow him to approach local business owners and ask them to provide scholarships for the student body, he said.
Steve Bernstein, CEO of Bernstein-Rein Advertising, said that deals like this are “a good thing” and invest in the Kansas City community. Bernstein-Rein Advertising is one of the largest advertising agencies in Kansas City.
“In Kansas City, our sports teams are a part of the fabric of who we are,” Bernstein said. “We support our teams regardless of if they are winning or losing.”
Bernstein, who is also on the UMKC Board of Trustees, said that the student perks and marketing opportunity of a professional sports partnership could be significantly beneficial to UMKC as sports sponsorships can raise interest in UMKC among prospective families and students.
However, Bernstein also said that comparing the opportunity cost of these sponsorships with other educational and marketing opportunities is necessary to ensure the advertisements are worth the costly investment.
Londyn Ibarra, UMKC sophomore in business administration, said “it was cool” to be honored on-field at a Chiefs pregame alongside Schumyn and 18 other UMKC students for receiving the Chiefs Kingdom Spirit Scholarship.
“Getting the privilege to get to do something fun like this and get rewarded for our successes is huge and encouraging to people,” said Ibarra.
UMKC Freshman Jasmine Galeas received approximately $1,200 from the Chiefs Opportunity Fund award to join a weekend long summer leadership conference in New York. She is also a double major in biology and Spanish, is a First Gen Roo and member of UMKC’s Avanzando and Association of Latin American Students (ALAS).
Galeas said that awards like the Chiefs Opportunity Fund she received show that Kansas City’s organizations care about UMKC’s students and their educational opportunities.
“Being in school isn’t an easy thing,” said Galeas. “Students should know that the community that they’re in is going to be there to support you.”
However, the financial contributions of these funds don’t always cover all the costs students hope for.
Amanuel Bekele, a UMKC senior in computer science, applied for a Chiefs Opportunity Fund award to help pay for his transportation costs for his internship at TAB.
“It’s really encouraging for students like myself to really pursue those bigger opportunities,” said Bekele.
While he’s happy with the program, it didn’t cover all of his costs. Bekele was only approved for $2,000 of the $2,500 he requested for his regular 45-mile commute to work.
“It’s a really unique experience,” said Bekele. “Their [the Chiefs] success on the field feels like my success as a student for them to be able to support me in this way.”
Rachel Waller, UMKC chief marketing strategist, confirmed that these multimillion dollar partnerships are paid for by UMKC’s general fund. UMKC’s general fund is generated through sources that do not require restricted spending like tuition and state funding, unlike the specified spending in grants or donor-specified gifts.
“We have worked intentionally with each team to create partnership goals that are built around unique learning and mentorship opportunities as well as professional development for our students,” Waller said.
The Royals contract sponsors a few unique opportunities. One gives UMKC students the opportunity to work with students from WeCode KC and KC STEM Alliance to create a robot designed to throw the first pitch during a game and the chance for UMKC media students to create a Royals advertisement aired during home games.
The KC Current makes its partnership with UMKC visible by popping in for afternoons on campus with a merch table and photo ops. The Current partnership also offers multiple mentorship opportunities for UMKC soccer players and access to professional training facilities.
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