Baird Orchestrates Sponsorship Deals

Don Baird, a former world-class pole vaulter and member of the 1976 Australian Olympic team, has become an entrepreneur specializing in getting large corporations and high school sports organizations together.

Five years ago, when the Oregon High School Activities Assn., which is that state’s governing body of high school sports, was almost broke, Baird orchestrated a deal that helped keep the organization solvent.

He enlisted sponsorships from several corporations, then later put together a deal with a bank that has brought the association $750,000 in the last 5 years.

“We were in trouble,” said Bud Lewis, director of the association. “He helped save high school athletics in Oregon.”

Baird grew up in Australia, trained in West Germany and attended Cal State Long Beach, where he was the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. indoor pole vault champion in 1977.

His first major deal was for the Oregon association and he has organized deals or is in the process of putting together projects for high school organizations in 13 states, including California. His biggest deal so far has been a $1.2-million, 3-year arrangement for the California Interscholastic Federation with Reebok and Coca-Cola.

Last year, Baird formed School Properties Inc. in Yorba Linda and hired a staff with a plan for licensing high school apparel and products in the same manner that NFL Properties Inc. has made millions for owners of National Football League teams.

In the next 2 weeks, each of the CIF’s 10 sections will vote on whether to authorize the CIF to negotiate with School Properties as its licensing body.