Kansas University's Natural History Museum wanted exposure, and Eric Struckhoff wanted money.
Voil the Museum Cycling Team was born.
The MCT formerly Lawrence Bicycle Club Racing and KU's Natural History Museum have agreed to an unusual, if not unique, sponsorship agreement starting this season.
"It's certainly something we've never done before," said Brad Kemp, the museum's assistant director for public affairs. "From our point of view, it's an attempt to appeal to an audience our survey shows we're not hitting well, the magical, mystical 18- to 39-year-old part of the population. We haven't attracted them as well as we had hoped. We hope this is a way to attract that group. It's a good cause, and we're hoping the team does spectacularly well."
The museum's $2,000 sponsorship could help toward that end.
"For the museum, it's a marketing decision," said Struckhoff, president of the Museum Cycling Team. "They're interested in being known better. At first, the connection seemed a little tenuous, but there are many tenuous connections you could draw between cycling and the museum. We really have great support in the local business community, but this is really a major increase for our budget. It's a situation where we'll be able to actually support a cohesive team of top riders."
While sponsorship is certainly not a new aspect of the sport, Struckhoff admits museum sponsorship is somewhat unusual.
"Sponsorship makes strange bedfellows," he said. "Car-makers are typical ones. But some of the large European teams are sponsored by societies that benefit the blind. Of course, Europe is a different scene."
Membership in Museum Cycling Team is open to racers and non-competitive cyclists. Struckhoff said the museum's sponsorship will help the MCT support an elite women's team.
"When we were approached about this, I thought it was win-win for all of us," Kemp said. "We'll do it for a year and see if we meet our goals."
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