# What Happened to the ASA?



## WDMJR3DBOWGUY (Dec 2, 2003)

Loss of sponsors and $$$$$


----------



## tmorelli (Jul 31, 2005)

3d as a whole didnt take off at the level that people thought it would. Those videos are from a peak period where a lot was being invested "at the ground level". I believe that a lot of sponsors didn't get the return they expected and their money went with them.

I wish it was a different story but attendance is lower today than it was in the mid-90's. After taking a break and coming back, I really think the competition got stiffer and people who had little-to-no chance of winning realized it (or at least decided it wasn't worth the work it would take) and quit attending. The sport as a started about having fun in a competitive environment and grew into a sport about winning. In all honesty, I think the highly competitive nature of it culled the people who just wanted to have fun. Those guys are/were the future of the sport..........add to all that it is expensive to participate in at a high level. A small % of the archers of the world have a few thousand $/year in disposable income.


----------



## J Whittington (Nov 13, 2009)

Greed


----------



## Bubba Dean (Jun 2, 2005)

Since I shot ASA back in the days when Wayne owned it I will say what I have seen. Back in those days ASA had Miller Brewing Company as one of the sponsors. The money that Miller contributed was used for Wayne's favorite class Open Pro. That is why shooter of the year received $50k. Amateur classes regardless of size had a purse of $500($250 for 1st, $150 for 2nd and $100 for 3rd). Rest of the money went who knows where. Myself comparing what we have today with ASA and what it was in the 90's.....I'll take today in a heartbeat.


----------



## 3Dblackncamo (Jul 22, 2009)

ASA still miles ahead of IBO, unless your pro you want win enough at IBO to buy your gas back home


----------



## CutTheLoop (Dec 26, 2007)

cenochs said:


> After watching these videos looks like the ASA at some point took a large leap backwards then continuing to grow.
> 
> 
> here is a link to the videos
> ...


So, what happened you ask?

I've been saying it for years..... the mechanical release "aid"......that's what happened.:tongue:


----------



## CutTheLoop (Dec 26, 2007)

Holy, blast from the past.:thumbs_up


----------



## J Whittington (Nov 13, 2009)

Don't think release aides had anything to do with it!

I competed in ASA in the Wayne Pearson era. Amatuer payouts were not bad as posted above. I remember them being a lot better than they are now. However,Asa is still the best and really the only true 3D org worth going to.

Sponsor ship is the biggie. Pearson had Bud in the early days, and miller in the end. Current Asa owners have chosen not to accept that type of sponsorship any more. Like it not, it's their business, they can,are, and will continue to run it as they see fit.


----------



## Kade (Jan 11, 2011)

What happened was GREED. The Pros wanted more money. 

For the top archers the ASA is not better now then it was then. If they hadnt screwed what they had the ASA Pros would be making money just like the BASS Pros do, or maybe more. 

Some of that money could have been back on tour if Bud hadn't been turned away a handful of years back. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## RJseniorpro (Jan 12, 2009)

*Pros*

I don't normally respond to the thread, but I need to let you guys know how I feel about being a pro in archery. I have been a so call PRO for 25 years and archery has been good to me. I have won my share and lost more than my share. It's not about the money at all...I want to win and be #1 for the love of it. We work hard to shoot at our level and to maintain enough sponsorship to cover our expenses. It cost about $15,000 per year to attend around 18 tournaments on the circuit. This would be hard to explain to the wife and taking this much money from your family income has never crossed my mind. I enjoy what we do and it is the sponsors choice whom they choose to represent their product. It takes alot of hard work and dedication to stay near the top and pay your expenses. I am very thankful for the sponsors whom believe in me and it has been a gggreat tttrip. Just remember being a Pro is paying a higher entry fee, getting sponsors, working hard to stay on top and most of all, keep your life in perspective. At one point in my life when I can't be competitive, I will change classes (super seniors) and still give it all I got. God bless all archers!:wink:


----------



## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Well, by last numbers the ASA is still growing membership wise. Evidently the ASA is doing something right. 

If meant by growing in payback money and TV coverage, forget it. Archery will never be a sponsorship sport such as baseball, football, basketball or stock car racing. Archery would need a complete overhaul from what we know it today. The non-pro would more than likely be out of the picture and the thing is, if not for the non-pro archery wouldn't exist.

We just don't have the spectator following. How many Olympic sports have been introduced over compound bows? Last heard compounds are far in the distance for the Olympics. Our shots are not heard, our arrows not seen until after in the target and our bows do not crash....Well, not with spectacular results.


----------



## cenochs (May 2, 2007)

In my opinion ASA is the best organization but how could they have not taken what Pearson had and make it grow? The ESPN coverage on the videos was awesome and with today's technology could be even better! Why did the ASA lose the Miller and Bud Sponsors? And why didn't they look for more? I love the ASA but would like to see more of the Old ASA with today's technology to cover the event and try to bring back the big sponsors and TV coverage!


----------



## J Whittington (Nov 13, 2009)

As I stated earlier, current owners doesn't want a beer sponsor. I'm 100% of that. Feel fairly certain that they don't want a super/major sponsor. It's their business, they have the right to run it they way they want to.

I do agree ASA is IT for 3D archery, do wish they had the old payouts. It's not going to happen, at least not anytime soon.


----------



## carlosii (Feb 25, 2007)

bring a big sponsor on board and you have to dance to the tune they play...as it stands now Mike and Co. only need to listen to their membership in order to succeed and meet their goals.


----------



## VeroShooter (Jul 14, 2005)

To play the devils advocate - Why would a big sponsor want to put 10's of thousands of dollars into an archery event? A big sponsor is looking to get a return on their money not donate it to us. Where would the return be for them? The reason why there are currently no big sponsors now is that the original ones realized that the return that they were expecting never did materialize so they opted to not continue.


----------



## VeroShooter (Jul 14, 2005)

In order to get new sponsorship money someone would have to lay out a format that would draw spectators to the TV audience in greater numbers than what we can expect now and a lot more than what was achieved the first time around when they laid out their dollars with expectations that never came about.


----------



## Bubba Dean (Jun 2, 2005)

I understand about the family aspect of the ASA and I appreciate it. However I would not care if the Budweiser tapper truck was at every event or if we had Hooter girls as scorekeepers IF it put money in the pot for all the classes not just a few. As VeroShooter said to find a sponsor that would donate money and not expect some return is impossible.


----------



## 3Dblackncamo (Jul 22, 2009)

since my shooting needs a lil improvement, can I have one of those hooter girls to score my arrows


----------



## Brian from GA (Aug 15, 2002)

Some of you folks have lost your minds.... Mike T and ASA "Don't want large sponsors?" Wow... what about Mike getting Pennzoil and Cabelas... in case you haven't heard we are in a down economy... Have any of you ever asked Mike if he has ever turned down "Beer Money"? I have and he flat out told me no he has never turned down beer money. The ASA is a family organization but they are not anti-beer... they generally serve beer at the ASA state rep meetings. Maybe it will not be so hard to find state reps now that the cat is out of the bag ! I have another request for some of ya'll why don't you go out and get a large contract with a Bud, Miller, Chevy or Ford to put the millions in archery and then call Mike and tell him you will hand over the sponsor who is willing to shell it out for 20% of the contract. Bet you have a hard time coming up with a sponsor... Why have I quit working on Archery News Now.... because I tried my best to sell an idea for what archery needs for a year and a half and never sold one ad and believe me I wasn't asking for millions. My idea is not something that can help my family so I am going back to the drawing board. 

I guess all I am saying is that it is easy to sit here and second guess everything.... do something about it. Help find sponsors, etc, etc.


----------



## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Well put, Brian... Sorry about ANN.


----------



## EROS (Feb 15, 2004)

I know one thing that hurt every one was 3.00 plus gas. Our range adveraged 100 or so at it's peck. Fuel went over 3 bucks and 25% of the shooters went with it.

It's a old story but I can remember going on a trip you never thought of gas money. But now fuel is just as much as the hotel room.


----------



## asa_low12 (Mar 15, 2008)

What about having more "little" sponsors such as the hunting people? Bone collector (I have watched T-Bone shoot a shootdown on ESPN when it was sponsored by Pennzoil), Wildgame Innovations, Primos, Scent-Lok, Drury's, Rage, G5, ASAT, Mossy Oak, etc... I know those guys are rollllling in money.. What's $1k at every shoot to those people? Probably not much. Return? Yea it's gonna be hard to track how many archers bought Pennzoil over whatever oil they have used their whole life, but if those other companies supported ASA and offered a 1% discount to ASA members from their web page then they could see how much return they actually got. I'll bet it would be pretty good. Especially if they gave out patches to fill shirts with...


----------



## J Whittington (Nov 13, 2009)

When Pennzoil was a sponsor. in 4cy 4wd ford ranger. I had 250+ K when the rear end came out... motor still ran strong...and those 250K miles were "quality miles" lol
My oil wasnt much $ but I was trying to support them for supporting me/archery



asa_low12 said:


> What about having more "little" sponsors such as the hunting people? Bone collector (I have watched T-Bone shoot a shootdown on ESPN when it was sponsored by Pennzoil), Wildgame Innovations, Primos, Scent-Lok, Drury's, Rage, G5, ASAT, Mossy Oak, etc... I know those guys are rollllling in money.. What's $1k at every shoot to those people? Probably not much. Return? Yea it's gonna be hard to track how many archers bought Pennzoil over whatever oil they have used their whole life, but if those other companies supported ASA and offered a 1% discount to ASA members from their web page then they could see how much return they actually got. I'll bet it would be pretty good. Especially if they gave out patches to fill shirts with...


----------



## 3Dblackncamo (Jul 22, 2009)

alot of guys such as levi, jeff, michael b, jamie, jerry w(shooting a hoyt) matt varnes, sorry but cant remember everybody that are big guns, but you guys are a tax write off and a way for these companys to advertise there product, why is it so hard for companys to want to support archery when it gives back to them, I mean everyone cant win and winning isnt everything but lots of shooters are great advertisements for there bows,releases,arrows,strings, and the list goes on, so why are some of these companys not supporting archery


----------

