NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 20: Head coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams looks on prior to the NFC Championship game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)Getty
Every time a shot of Sean McVay and his snazzy beard flashes across television screens during his role as the 33-year-old miracle worker of the Super Bowl-bound Los Angeles Rams, his alma mater of Miami (Ohio) University saves thousands and even millions of advertising dollars.
Seriously.
Just like that, the world is learning the difference between that other Miami in Florida and the more historic one that has been around since 1809 with all sorts of famous people, including McVay and his striking charisma and Super Bowl team.
“Oh, this is a big deal. It’s really a big deal for many reasons,” said Miami (Ohio) president Greg Crawford, in his third year at this picturesque college of red brick and splendid landscape in southwestern Ohio. “The one thing that comes to mind for me is that everybody in the country is hearing about Sean McVay and Miami of Ohio and what he truly exemplifies, which is his leadership. We want that in all of our students, and we really think that, in the way that students are trained at Miami, and that is taking the liberal arts, no matter what major you’re in, that’s why many of our graduates end up as CEOs of companies and as head coaches and so forth.
“So we just absolutely love to see such successful leaders out there and carrying the name Miami of Ohio, especially on national TV.”
Yeah, and get this: According to Ad Age, the average television commercial during prime time for the 2017-2018 season cost $134,000. If you purchased something during a Sunday Night Football game on NBC (the priciest show for advertisers), you were talking about $699,000. For a 30-second commercial during Super Bowl LIII Sunday in Atlanta between the New England Patriots and the Rams, you’ll need more than $5 million.
Now think of how many times over the last few days ESPN has shown McVay during his three years as a wide receiver at Miami (Ohio) through 2007. Other media outlets have done the same, and they’ve noted that this is also the alma mater of Ben Roethlisberger, the perennial Pro Bowl quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. In addition, they’ve mentioned how McVay became the NFL’s youngest head coach ever at 31.
They’ve marveled over the Rams owning 13 consecutive non-winning seasons before McVay took them to the playoffs during his first year ever leading a team of any kind and followed that with this Super Bowl trip. They’ve pontificated about his brilliant mind that turns trick plays into routine ones, along with his ability to turn everybody of potential on his roster into reality. They’ve talked about his grandfather, John McVay, the frequently overlooked general manager who built that San Francisco 49ers dynasty of the 1980s and the 1990s, and he is in the Miami (Ohio) sports hall of fame.
They’ve hugged his hairdo.
Through it all, with Sean McVay everywhere, you hear Miami (Ohio) this and Miami (Ohio) that.
Actually, the university’s free advertising isn’t new.
“When the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl last year, (offensive lineman) Brandon Brooks was interviewed on TV, and they asked him where he went to school, and he pulled off his Eagles shirt, and there was a Miami of Ohio shirt underneath,” Crawford said, laughing. “It was just like you couldn’t have asked for any other kind of branding from a university’s perspective.”
Terence Moore graduated from Miami (Ohio) University in 1978. He walks around the gorgeous campus that sits 37 miles north of Cincinnati.Photo by Terence Moore
Miami (Ohio) isn’t just any university, though. Former First Lady Barbara Bush’s parents went here. So did Tina Louise (Remember Ginger from Gilligan’s Island?), U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, the inventor of Gumby and a bunch of CEOs, stretching from AT&T to Taco Bell to Twitter to Chiquita Banana.
U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Miami (Ohio) as the nation’s top public school for its commitment to undergraduate teaching.
It’s also the Cradle of Coaches. Paul Brown. Weeb Ewbank. Ara Parseghian. Bo Schembechler. Earl “Red” Blaik. You name a legendary football guy from the colleges or the pros, and he likely played, coached or did both within these city limits.
Still, Miami (Ohio) isn’t immune to the bottom line: Even though the university had its largest fall class ever last year of 3,925 full-time students, it’s a public college, and all public colleges are hurting financially compared to their pasts. I went here in the mid-1970s, and according to campus officials, the state-supported as much as 65 percent of the overall budget back then.
Now they say it’s less than 10 percent.
Consider, too, that the U.S. Department of Education determined five years ago that Miami (Ohio) was the most expensive public four-year public school in the country. It continues to hover in that vicinity, with Miami (Ohio)’s communications department saying instate fees these days for incoming freshmen is $15,378, with another $13,800 for room and board. If you’re from out of state, you’re given a surcharge of $19,500.
Even so, McVay is helping Miami (Ohio) remain a popular destination for students by becoming a living billboard for the university nearly every time he does or says anything during Super Bowl week in Atlanta.
And if the Rams beat the Patriots…
Miami (Ohio)’s marketing department can take a huge vacation after slapping McVay some high-fives.
No, that wasn’t invented by a Miami (Ohio) graduate.
I don’t think.