NCCU AD Asked to Clarify ‘Inaccuracies’ About Peak Sports Contract to Its Board
HOUSTON — On Monday, HBCU Legends received a communication from Peak Sports’ legal counsel, Cooper Walker of Frost Echols LLC of Dallas, Texas. Peak Sports retained Mr. Walker regarding comments made by NCCU Athletic Director Dr. Skip Perkins regarding the contract between NCCU and Peak Sports.
HBCU Legends reached out to Mr. Walker for an official comment from Peak Sports President Ryan Holloway. Walker responded to our request with the following statement:
“Peak Sports has no desire to sue North Carolina Central University. Peak Sports greatly values its relationship with North Carolina Central University and looks forward to working together for many years to come. Peak Sports’ sole motivation in sending its letter to the Board of Trustees was to provide the truth about the inaccurate statements made by Dr. Perkins about Peak Sports.” — Cooper Walker, Legal Representative for Peak Sports
Walker raised concerns about Dr. Perkins’ comments during a North Carolina Central University Board of Trustees meeting in June 2024.
Dr. Perkins commented to the Board, “One of our biggest problems besides insurance was our corporate sponsorships, which was at my last board meeting. We signed a 10-year deal with a corporate sponsorship company… where they get 40% of all our corporate sponsorships. So that hurts us as well. So I think they signed something like a little over half a million. Well, they got their 40% and we got the 60. But we could sell that ourselves. And that’s another interesting part about it. If we go out and sell it ourselves, they still get a percentage of what we sell.”
According to the contract, Walker claims that Dr. Perkins was “factually inaccurate.”
In a review of the letter, Walker highlighted three inaccuracies and gave the exact terms of the agreement:
- “Peak Sports keeps 40% of everything sold.”
- “Peak Sports keeps 40% of the items sold by the institution.”
- “NCCU has attempted numerous times to terminate the contract.”
First, Walker outlines the following terms of the NCCU-Peak Sports agreement:
- NCCU receives 100% of revenue between $0 and $100,000. This is the guaranteed amount each year.
- Peak Sports receives 100% of revenue between $100,000 and $275,000. (This amount paid to Peak Sports is far below the industry standard. This money is used, in part, to cover Peak Sports’ expenses, which total more than $225,000 per year.)
- Revenue above $275,000 is shared, with 60% going to NCCU and 40% going to Peak Sports. (The industry standard is a 50/50 split.)
Walker responded by saying that Perkins sent an addendum resolving the exclusivity issue to Peak Sports on May 5, 2023.
Peak Sports President Ryan Holloway and Vice President Wesley Abercrombie attended a meeting at North Carolina Central University with Athletic Director Dr. Skip Perkins, General Counsel Fenita Morris-Shepard and Assistant University General Counsel Bradley Hicks.
Both parties agreed to modify the contract, allowing NCCU’s athletic director to “raise funds where Peak Sports would not receive credit.” Walker continued, stating, “Since its inception date of June 1, 2022, it has always had the ability to raise revenue from donations from individuals and corporations.”
The Charlotte Post quoted Perkins as saying, “We’ve met with attorneys multiple times to try to find a way out of this contract. The guy won’t let us out.”
The letter describes dates of correspondence and voicemails between Perlkins and Peak Sports. One interesting exchange was a 13-minute conversation on April 30, 2024.”Dr. Perkins went on to share that the Board of Trustees was pressuring him to increase revenue. Ryan Holloway reminded Dr. Perkins that he has the ability to do so now that Peak Sports has removed the exclusivity clause from the contract. Peak Sports also shared that they had no desire to cancel the contract.
Three points of clarity from Peak Sports were:
• In the original agreement and subsequent addendum, NCCU has always had the ability to secure money from donations, including those from individuals and corporations. Peak Sports has never received money from anything that NCCU has raised from donations.
• NCCU has yet to sell a single sponsorship in which Peak Sports received a 40% revenue share.
• Peak Sports visited campus on July 6, 2022 and spoke with Dr. Perkins for two (2) hours to review the contract and answer any questions. The next correspondence Peak Sports received regarding the contract was in November 2022.
Peak Sports has no intention of seeking legal action regarding Dr. Skip Perkins’ remarks. Instead, Holloway requested that Dr. Perkins “communicate these inaccuracies verbally during the next Board Meeting with the Board of Trustees.”
