The Daily Reveille has learned Tiger Manor Condominiums’ advertising agreement to be a Tiger Partner has been terminated by CBS Collegiate Sports Properties. Tiger Manor co-owner Glenn Stewart said he received letter from CBSCSP Senior Vice President and General Counsel David Posy Feb. 12 serving “as a notice of termination” of his sponsorship of LSU athletics. The letter cites advertisements run by Tiger Manor in The Advocate on Jan. 2, Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 for displaying the “tiger partner mark” and the “official condominium of LSU athletics designation” in violation of the agreement. Stewart said he pays approximately $180,000 annually to be an “exclusive marketing and multi-media rights partner for LSU Athletics.” Stewart said he does not believe his use of the trademark is against the agreement. He said he has communicated with Posy asking for clarification about what portions of the agreement are in violation. “The reason they cited … didn’t make sense,” Stewart said. “That’s the whole reason I’m paying … to be able to use that.” Stewart said he believes the decision to revoke his Tiger Partnerstatus is because of several advertisements recently run in both The Advocate and The Daily Reveille, commenting politically on the ousting of former Chancellor Sean O’Keefe by the Board of Supervisors and System President John Lombardi. “I think what they’re getting at, although they don’t say it in the letter, is they don’t want me taking out what they perceive to be political ads and using the Tiger Partner mark in the ad,” Stewart said. “They’re incorrect about that.” Stewart said he received no previous contact concerning the violations of the agreement. The letter, however, claims “despite the demands of CBSCSP and University representatives, Tiger Manor has disregarded the express terms of the Agreement and continued the illegal and unauthorized use of LSU Intellectual Property.” Repeated calls to LSU Sports Properties officials seeking comment were not returned. Stewart said he placed the advertisements to show his displeasure with the manner in which information surrounding O’Keefe’s resignation has been handled. He said the System owes the University community more of an explanation behind O’Keefe’s departure, and he hoped his advertisements would pressure the System to release such information. According to the letter, Tiger Manor will be invoiced for the costs associated with “the removal and discontinuation of existing advertisement.” The letter does not specify if Tiger Manor will be compensated in any form for the discontinuation of their sponsorship. Stewart said he plans to continue advertising with University outlets including The Daily Reveille. He said if more information surrounding O’Keefe’s departure is not released, he will continue to run advertisements commenting on the situation. “We were very proud to be the official condominium partner for LSU,” Stewart said. “This definitely hurts.” LSU Sports Properties is a division of CBS Collegiate Sports Properties.
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]