AWA gets UA, California

Athletic World Advertising of Fayetteville, the world’s largest sports calendar company, has signed the University of Arkansas athletic department to a five-year commitment to produce Razorback football, basketball and spring sports calendars.

The UA had formerly produced the posters in-house.

And on Aug. 14, AWA became the official sports poster company for the California Athletic Association, which has 1,200 schools as members. AWA will be the corporate sponsor for the annual California Athletic Directors meeting.

“This opens a whole lot of doors for us,” said Gregg Ogden, president of AWA.

AWA is now the official sports poster company for 15 state associations, including Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas. Last year, the company generated about $16 million in sales.

Ogden also recently secured the services of former Arkansas and National Football League legend Pat Summerall for narration work on AWA videos. Summerall is a longtime broadcaster for NFL games, currently working for FOX Television Network. Ogden met Summerall at Augusta National Golf Club, site of the Masters golf tournament.

Ogden has also retained the services of UA men’s athletic director Frank Broyles as the keynote speaker for the AWA-sponsored High School Athletic Director of the Year Conference held annually at the World Golf Village Resort in St. Augustine, Fla.