The Arizona Board of Regents voted to allow Arizona to pay $2.4 million to settle a breach-of-contract lawsuit from Leona Marketing over an athletics-related deal.
Cliff Iler, UA’s general counsel, told the Regents during a meeting Thursday that the lawsuit was related to a “footwear, apparel and equipment agreement” that UA entered into with Nike. He said Leona claimed in the lawsuit that it was entitled to a success fee based on the agreement, and the filing UA made with the Regents said Leona had sued for a breach of contract.
Leona's website says it has industry experts who guide athletic departments in finding the best deals for multimedia rights and apparel rights.
Arizona created a nonprofit sponsorship arm known as Arizona Sports Enterprises after AD Desiree Reed-Francois was hired in February 2024. All sponsorship agreements are now routed through ASE and are not subject to public records requests.
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Iier did not provide any additional context and Regents voted to approve the settlement without public comment. The issue had been scheduled to be discussed during a private executive session Thursday morning.
