P R O J E C T CORPORATE SPONSOR PARTNERS Hall Of Famer Willie Lanier SUPPORTING HBCUs W W W . H O N E Y B E A R P R O J E C T . C O M A B O U T H O N E Y B E A R P R O J E C T NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier Launches Honey Bear Project to Build New Football Fields at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) The Willie Lanier HBCU Fieldturf Project seeks partners to join its team in support of launching his most important project to date, the Honey Bear Project. Lanier hopes to raise $50 million to repair and revitalize athletic fields at America’s most treasured HBCUs, with plans to literally level the playing field so athletes can safely find their footing and focus on the play. To achieve this goal, the Honey Bear Project is partnering with FieldTurf – one of the world’s largest manufacturers and installers of artificial playing surfaces for athletic teams – to install new, state-of-the-art turf surfaces at nearly 36 HBCU football stadiums over the next two years, with minimal to no cost to the schools. Virginia Union University’s 113-year-old football stadium is the first HBCU to have FieldTurf installed. And, with your help, many more are soon to follow. Join the Honey Bear Project in leading the charge to help HBCUs and their communities rebuild their gridiron one field at a time. The Honey Bear Project (HBP) partners have an opportunity to select from easy effective sponsorship options to fit their marketing requirements and maximize their marketing dollars as outlined in the following Partner Sponsorship Opportunity categories. LEGENDS & HEROES REBUILDING HBCUs GRIDIRONS ONE FIELD AT A TIME L E G A C Y S P O N S O R P A R T N E R S Will receive prominent recognition and extensive customized Partnership benefits including: Company Banner on display 24 months at a participating HBCU football field of choice Personal introduction to Willie Lanier Hall of Fame 100 Greatest NFL players of all time Company name and logo pominent in all Honey Bear Project related Digital Marketing Exclusive press release announcing your partnership with the Honey Bear Project Company name and logo on Honey Bear Project website’s Partner listings Web banner on Honey Bear Project’s websites including your company link Special presentation of commemorative LEGACY Partner Sponsor Plaque & Certificate Willie Lanier signed Kansas City Chiefs Jersey Special Partner allowed 2-minute onstage speaking opportunity at a Honey Bear Project special event Verbal sponsor recognition by on-stage announcers at Honey Bear Project events 30 second sponsor’s optional marketing video to air preceding or at the conclusion a Honey Bear Project special event or installation ribbon cutting event Conference with a participating of choice HBCU Head Coach and Athletic Director Photo opportunities with Willie Lanier and featured VIP’s at a Honey Bear Project event Full-page premium AD placement in Haute is Online Magazine C O M M I T M E N T $ 5 0 0 , 9 9 9 + LEGENDS & HEROES REBUILDING HBCUs GRIDIRONS ONE FIELD AT A TIME H A L L O F F A M E S P O N S O R P A R T N E R S Will receive prominent recognition and extensive customized Partnership benefits including: Company Banner on display 12 months at a participating HBCU football field of choice Personal introduction to Willie Lanier Hall of Fame 100 Greatest NFL players of all time Company name and logo prominent in all Honey Bear Project related press materials Exclusive press release announcing your partnership with the Honey Bear Project Company name and logo on Honey Bear Project website’s Partner listings Web banner on Honey Bear Project’s websites including your company link Special presentation of commemorative HALL OF FAME Partner Plaque & Certificate Willie Lanier signed Kansas City Chiefs Jersey Verbal sponsor recognition by on-stage announcers at Honey Bear Project events Conference with a participating of choice HBCU Head Coach and Athletic Director Photo opportunities with Willie Lanier at a Honey Bear Project event Full-page AD placement in Haute is Online Magazine C O M M I T M E N T $ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 + H O N E Y B E A R P R O J E C T F A C T S ABOUT HBCU FOOTBALL On December 27, 1892, the first Black Intercollegiate football game was played Biddle College (now Johnson C. Smith University) and Livingstone College. Most of the nations ( HBCU's play in one of (4) athletic conferences). Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Michael Strahan, Sterling Sharpe and David "Deacon" Jones are but a few of football greats who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). 30 HBCU football players are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame attending schools such as Morgan State, Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Florida A&M and Grambling State. Virginia Union University's Hovey Stadium is the second oldest college football stadium still in use in the United States behind Harvard University. HBCU AUDIENCE DATA Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions that were established prior to 1964 with the principal mission of educating Black Americans. These institutions were founded and developed in an environment of legal segregation and, by providing access to higher education, they contributed substantially to the progress Black Americans made in improving their status. In 2018, there were 101 HBCUs located in 19 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of the 101 HBCUs, 51 were public institutions and 50 were private nonprofit institutions. The number of HBCU students increased 47 percent, from 223,000 to 327,000 students, between 1976 and 2010, then decreased 11 percent, to 292,000 students, between 2010 and 2018 (source). In comparison, the number of students in all degree-granting institutions increased 91 percent, from 11 million to 21 million students, between 1976 and 2010, then decreased 7 percent, to 20 million students, between 2010 and 2018. Although HBCUs were originally founded to educate Black students, they enroll students of other races as well. This diversity has increased over time (source). In 2018, non- Black students made up 24 percent of enrollment at HBCUs, compared with 15 percent in 1976. While Black enrollment at HBCUs increased by 17 percent between 1976 and 2018, the total number of Black students enrolled in all degree-granting postsecondary institutions more than doubled during this period. As a result, among Black students the percentage enrolled at HBCUs fell from 18 percent in 1976 to 9 percent in 2010, then showed no measurable change between 2010 and 2018. Female enrollment at HBCUs has been higher than male enrollment in every year since 1976. The percentage of female enrollment at HBCUs increased from 53 percent in fall 1976 to 62 percent in fall 2018. Also in 2018, some 88 percent of HBCU students attended 4-year institutions, while 12 percent attended 2-year institutions. About 76 percent of HBCU students attended public institutions, while the remaining 24 percent attended private nonprofit institutions. In academic year 2017–18, HBCUs conferred some 48,300 degrees. Of the degrees conferred by HBCUs, associate’s degrees accounted for 11 percent, more than two-thirds were bachelor’s degrees (68 percent), master’s degrees accounted for 16 percent of degrees, and doctor’s degrees accounted for 5 percent. Of the degrees conferred by HBCUs, the majority (74 percent) were conferred to Black students. Black students earned 43 percent of the 5,500 associate’s degrees, 81 percent of the 32,600 bachelor’s degrees, 71 percent of the 7,700 master’s degrees, and 62 percent of the 2,500 doctor’s degrees conferred by HBCUs in 2017–18. At all levels, the majority of degrees conferred to Black students were conferred to Black female students. Over time, the percentages of bachelor's and master's degrees conferred to Black students by HBCUs have decreased. For example, HBCUs conferred 35 percent of the bachelor's degrees and 21 percent of the master's degrees Black students earned in 1976–77, compared with 13 and 6 percent, respectively, of bachelor's and master's degrees Black students earned in 2017–18 (source, source, source, and source). Additionally, the percentage of Black doctor's degree recipients who received their degrees from HBCUs was lower in 2017–18 (11 percent) than in 1976–77 (14 percent). The total revenue for HBCUs in 2017–18 was $8.7 billion, with $1.9 billion from student tuition and fees. Total expenditures were $8.0 billion, of which $2.3 billion was spent on instruction. (Source https://nces.ed.gov/) Hall Of Famer Willie Lanier's P R O J E C T CONTACT: Nadia Sellers Honey Bear Project M: 517.881.4471 Email: [email protected] W W W . H O N E Y B E A R P R O J E C T . C O M E L E C T R O N I C P R E S S K I T.