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A Pilot Case Study

Saving Dollars and Time for Members of the NCAA

Discover More Get Started

E&I Cooperative Services

Whether institutions are enjoying homefield advantage or traveling to the next big game, E&I Cooperative Services is a partner to help meet the needs of NCAA programs. We’ve tapped into input from member institutions to build a comprehensive contract portfolio of athletics products and services with the most trusted suppliers in the industry.

While E&I is one of the most known names in procurement at institutions across the U.S., many athletic departments still don’t know us. E&I is the only member-owned, non-profit sourcing cooperative exclusively focused on serving the higher education community. Because higher-ed is our sole focus, we are equipped with the knowledge, experience, and passion to meet the specialized needs of educational procurement. We help our members reduce costs and optimize supply chain efficiencies through a portfolio of competitively solicited contracts. We act as an extension of athletics procurement departments, helping members save time and money. We have done the work, from partner research, to RFP development, to contract management.

This case study may help tell our story.

How It Got Started

The Background

Following a comprehensive research initiative by the NCAA to identify strategies for supporting their members, E&I Cooperative Services and the NCAA developed a partnership utilizing E&I’s long-standing tenure in the procurement services industry in an effort to save E&I member schools both time and money in purchasing athletic related goods and services.  

Overall Savings Across Divisions
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Total % Savings Among Pilot Schools
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Taking Action

Pilot Program 

The two organizations initiated a pilot program to help NCAA member institutions optimize their sourcing and contract processes in the athletic training supplies and equipment categories.

E&I collected purchasing data from member schools (spanning across DI, DII, and DIII) for these categories in January 2025 and ran an analysis across suppliers and SKUs for 14 participating schools across the divisions.  

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By the Numbers

Results

Based on the pilot program results, E&I contracts could have offered significant savings across the board. Overall, nearly 28% of the data evaluated could have been saved if aligned through an E&I agreement.  

In addition to the potential cost savings, utilizing E&I contracts would provide time savings by minimizing time spent shopping and quoting materials and services and reducing risk due to pre-negotiated contracts with approved vendors. E&I has negotiated preferred pricing with 200+ vendors, some which provide athletic-related goods and services that could benefit member schools. 

Conclusions and Action Items

In March, the NCAA announced the significant savings opportunities to their membership, aiming to educate universities on how aligning their contract purchasing efforts with E&I could yield potential cost reductions. 

Starting in April 2025, E&I began holding meetings with athletic departments across all three divisions to help our procurement partners in athletics understand the comprehensive offering of more than 225 contracts offered by E&I, which span the entire student-athlete experience. E&I is actively working to communicate to our members and their athletic departments about the benefits we currently provide while also creating methods to collect input to better tailor our sourcing efforts to support their evolving needs.   

As the only member-owned souring cooperative focused exclusively on education, E&I relies on feedback from its members. The long-term objective of this partnership is to enable programs across the country to save money and time, therefore creating opportunities to re-invest in the student-athlete experience and enhance the overall university experience.  

 

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A brief highlight of athletics contracts available.

Some Interesting Facts About E&I

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225 +
Competitive Contracts
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6200
E&I Current Members
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98 %
are NCAA Members
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3 Billion
In Annual Spend
The Value of Procurement

How Procurement Can Play a Role for Athletics

Listen as E&I CEO Eric Frank highlights the exciting prospects within education procurement, emphasizing the crucial role of procurement professionals in budget optimization and digital innovation. In the face of persistent challenges including staffing shortages and rapid changes, Eric underscores E&I's commitment to empowering members with tangible solutions, ensuring they navigate these obstacles with confidence and make the most of the opportunities ahead.

Convocation
200 Contracts

Covering the Entire Student Athlete Experience

With more than 200 contracts covering your campus, athletics departments have incredible programmatic coverage to support their athletes before arriving on campus, both on and off the field, and inside the classroom. 

Contracts from E&I