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VWSD unveils new sponsorship plan for athletics
Published 4:00 am Sunday, August 3, 2025
- The video board at Warren Central’s Viking Stadium displays ads including the Nike logo with the team’s logo. The Vicksburg Warren School District recently signed a deal to make Nike its exclusive equipment provider, and is rolling out a new sponsorship plan to generate extra revenue for the athletics department. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
For almost as long as organized sports has existed, advertising has been a part of it. From signs on the outfield wall at baseball games to calling out sponsors during broadcasts, it’s been woven into the fabric of the games.
Now, the Vicksburg Warren School District is trying to bring its ad game into the 21st century.
The VWSD recently unveiled a new advertising and sponsorship plan to help generate extra revenue for its athletic programs. There are more than a dozen tiers available, all customizable for each individual business.
“I look at it as a partnership. We can partner with local businesses to not only have them assist our students, but give them advertising and exposure,” VWSD athletics director James Lewis said. “It’ll put our businesses in a beacon of light so we can showcase what they’re doing for our school district. We look at that as a mutually beneficial partnership.”
Previously, each team has sold some of its own signage to raise extra money. Lewis said they’ll still be able to do that, while the new plan brings some of it under the umbrella of the athletics department.
“This is moreso the big signage stuff like the jumbotron and scoreboards, things of those nature,” Lewis said. “We’re not going to take those things away from those programs that did that. That’ll be their type of fundraiser. We’ll be more the big district stuff that we oversee like scoreboards and jumbotrons.”
The most comprehensive plans cost between $2,500 and $7,000 per season and include commercials on the video boards at the football stadiums at Vicksburg High and Warren Central; public address announcements; and come with perks such as game tickets and preferred parking.
Lewis said the commercials are a way to maximize the potential of the video boards that were added when stadiums at both schools were renovated in 2019.
“This is a step up. When I played sports here, there was no such thing as a jumbotron,” said Lewis, a Warren Central alum. “We want to make sure we maximize all of the facilities that we have. Part of my job is also to gain revenue, so we use our facilities for that. We’re using sponsorships to supplement our department’s budget and that’s what this plan is for.”
Football livestream sponsorships range from $1,000 to $3,000 for varying amounts of commercials during the broadcasts. Livestream sponsorships are not available in other sports, however, because the VWSD does not have ad rights for those games under its agreement with the NFHS Network.
There are also “as they happen” sponsorships for nearly 50 game events such as first downs in football, goals in soccer, or double plays in baseball and softball. Those cost $500 each. If there’s one that an advertiser wants that isn’t on the list, Lewis said they can add it.
Other plans include social media and online ads as game day sponsors.
“The possibilities are endless,” Lewis said. “The multitude of things now, in a world where media and technology is different, you need to maximize on that. Every penny we raise is going right back to our programs. That’s what I’m truly excited about.”
Lewis said the new plan is intended to supplement the VWSD’s budget for athletics. As costs rise on everything from equipment to transportation, finding ways to generate some extra revenue is important. All of the money generated from the plan will go into a general fund that feeds back into the VWSD’s various programs as needed.
The school district fields 20 varsity and junior varsity teams in more than a dozen sports and activities. Band, choir, and the cheer and dance teams are also under the oversight of the athletics department.
“I always look at it from the collegiate standpoint. The AD of a collegiate athletic department is a fundraiser. With the stadium’s increased prices, tariffs on equipment we buy from overseas, you have to find a way to span that tide,” Lewis said. “People always look at it as, ‘Money, money, money,’ but you can’t do anything in this world without funding. That’s just part of what we are. Kids want the latest equipment, they want to be safe. Those things take money. With us doing it strategically with this plan, and soliciting businesses to participate, it’s just the way we have to do business in an ever-changing world.”
VWSD Athletic Sponsorship Advertisement
About Ernest Bowker
Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post’s sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post’s sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper’s 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.
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