UPDATED: UA expects no changes under IMG

A bit of business sports news today: IMG has acquired ISP, the media and marketing provider for Arkansas athletics.

Arkansas is in the middle of a 10-year, $73 million deal with ISP that was announced in August of 2008. Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said in a statement today that he expects no changes in the current contract, which will obviously now roll over to IMG.

“We are looking forward to continuing our multi-media rights partnership with the new IMG College Sports Division,” Long said. “With the merger of these two nationally respected companies, the University of Arkansas will maintain its relationship with the premier multi-media rights holder in intercollegiate athletics.  I have had the opportunity to work with Ben Sutton on several occasions throughout my career and have great confidence in Ben’s leadership. I am pleased he will continue to serve as the president of the combined venture. We will work with the new company under our existing ISP agreement.  Our contract remains intact and we look forward to continuing to work together to grow our relationship and our brand.”

Sutton was the founder and CEO of ISP, and will become president of the “newly combined business,” according to a news release. He will be responsible for day-to-day operations and development.

Six SEC schools have deals with ISP.

Financial details of the acquisition were not released Wednesday. IMG’s news release on the deal can be found here. USA Today also has more on the deal.

IMG has hit the scene with force the last few years. USA Today did a story on the evolution of the media giant last year, which can be read here.

Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more coverage. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates with @bmarcello and @wholehogsports.

— Brandon Marcello