A study done in 2004 showed that Nicholls Athletics brought in close to $9 million annually to the region, but the athletic department is confident that number has increased over the last nine years.
“You look at that being ten years ago, and prices have gone up,” Brandon Ruttley, assistant athletic director of external affairs, said. “I think people don’t realize the amount of impact this athletic department has on the city and surrounding areas.”
Every July, the Manning Passing Academy (MPA) is one of the biggest events for athletics. About 1,200 campers come to Nicholls with their families to take direction from the Mannings and other NFL players and collegiate players. Many of the campers come with their families for the duration of the camp. The total economic impact of the academy brings in $1.8 million.
“It is a bright light in the summer when nothing else is really going on to have media members from all over the country in Thibodaux. It brings a marketing impact for Thibodaux and Nicholls State University,” Ruttley said. “Those people have to eat and pump gas, and that money is going back into the community.”
The MPA makes use of almost all of the facilities on campus, including dining halls, residence halls, practice fields and meeting rooms. The MPA hosted its eighth year at Nicholls this past July.
Nicholls Athletic Director Rob Bernardi was an integral part in bringing the MPA to Nicholls. Nine years ago, he was in the copy room and saw a flyer on the fax machine about the MPA needing a place to go, so Bernardi immediately made some calls and began the push to get the MPA to Nicholls.
“About two days later, ,Archie was in Thibodaux looking at it, and I think what appealed so much to him is that he could have the camp on one site,” Bernardi said. “When they were at Southeastern, they were all over campus, and I think the attraction of Nicholls was that he could have 80 percent of the camp in one spot.”
The camp has impacted in other ways. New Jersey native Brandon Cowley liked Nicholls so much that he decided to walk on to the football team. Ruttley believes having public figures such as the Mannings adds “prestige” to the university.
“When you’re associated with the Manning name, the first family of football, they have had so much success, and to be associated with that takes it off the charts for Nicholls,” Ruttley said.
This past year, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel left the camp early and it caused plenty of buzz. It added more coverage to Nicholls as it was talked about long after the camp finished.
“It wasn’t really positive for Johnny, but Nicholls and Thibodaux kept getting mentioned,” Ruttley said. “It puts us in people’s heads, and the camp continues to grow and grow every year, and I think you will see even more people this [upcoming] year.”
Due to the economic impact the MPA has on Thibodaux and the surrounding areas, the Louisiana government invested $1.2 million for field renovations. Last year, campers had to practice on the parking lots because of poor field drainage.
Nicholls plays host to 90 home athletic events a year, which means that these teams who are not in driving distance stay in hotels, buy food and gas and eat in local restaurants. The owner of Wingstop, Tommy Morvant, signed a deal with athletics last year, giving the restaurant a sign in the gym. One of the visiting teams called to buy a catered meal because of the sign.
“We have a huge impact.We bring a lot of people in and those teams come with fans,” Ruttley said. “McNeese traveled close to 1,000 people for the game a couple of weeks ago. Some stayed in our hotels and ate in our restaurants. I went to Politz after, and I saw a bunch of McNeese fans after. No one really talks about those numbers like they should.”
Internally, Nicholls raises money through the use of sponsorships, donations to Colonel Athletic Association, ticket sales and various events like golf tournaments. Colonel Athletics hosts the annual Seafood Extravaganza, and last year they took home a purse full of 50,000 dollars. John Deere recently brought 300 employees to an athletic event to give back to its employees.
Ruttley is passionate about the positive impact of the athletics here. “People may say that little old Nicholls athletics isn’t very valuable to the community, but that is wrong,” Ruttley said.