| Tribes Making Inroads In Sports Industry February 22, 2007 • Courtesy of USA Today By Greg Boeck • Photo By Reinhold Matay, AP  UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Ralph Sturges has personally encountered two of the greatest Native American athletes in history. He saw Jim Thorpe compete and he has met Billy Mills. But Sturges, the 88-year-old lifetime chief of the Mohegan tribe of Indians of Connecticut, never thought he'd live to see this: tribal gaming dollars providing health care, education and elderly housing for his people — and a professional women's basketball team providing tribal entertainment. "We all sit on the edge of our seats," tribal chairman Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum says. "The girls are like part of our family." The Mohegans, whose 188-year quest for federal recognition succeeded in 1994, launched into the gaming business in 1995 when Sturges blessed the ground on which the tribe's $300 million, 240-acre Mohegan Sun casino would stand. Eight years later, behind revenue that allowed a $1.1 billion expansion in 2002 and a $747 million expansion announced last November, the 1,700-member tribe became the first non-NBA owner of a WNBA team with its $10 million purchase of the Orlando Miracle. Renamed the Connecticut Sun, the team won its third consecutive Eastern Conference title last summer. It also averaged attendance of 7,200 a game last season playing in the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena, located inside the world's second-largest casino. The Mohegans, along with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and Seminoles in boxing and the Yakamas in minor league basketball, are at the forefront of Native American tribes becoming part of the U.S. sports industry, but they still are the exception. Of the 562 federally recognized tribes in the country, 223 have gaming compacts. According to the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), however, the top 20 tribal gaming operations, because of their proximity to major population centers, generate 55.5% of total Native American gaming revenue. Ernie Stevens Jr., a full-blooded Chickasaw and the NIGA's chair, says he foresees more tribes using gaming revenue to enter the sports industry. "I see it as an opportunity, but I don't see it as rampant," he says. "As Indian country emerges, people don't know what to make of us. At the same time, once they embrace us, they find out there are good partnerships." The Mohegans' move with the WNBA was historic — and pivotal in raising the profile of the tribe's casino. "One of the reasons I was behind bringing the team here was not because we wanted to make money from the WNBA team," Sturges says. "It was to give us a chance to publicly advertise in all major magazines and newspapers. It gave us an in that we never had before." Adds CEO Mitchell Etess: "It was very important in establishing us as an entertainment destination. It legitimizes us in the industry and the community, and promotionally put us on another level. It made a statement for us as a company and made us a player." The Mohegan Sun Casino, with 300,000 square feet of gaming space, is near the Thames River in southeast Connecticut , within 150 miles of New York , Boston , Hartford and Providence. The Mohegans also have used gaming dollars to sponsor Matt Kobyluck, a member of the tribe who is a Busch East Series auto racer. Kobyluck, 37, began racing in 1993 and teamed with the Mohegans in 1996. Bozsum says the tribe might go into more sports ventures. "We keep our ears and eyes open," he says. "If a great opportunity came along, I'm sure we'd think hard about it." Boosted by gaming revenue, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, based in El Cajon, California, 30 miles east of San Diego, went into boxing promotions in January 2004. Few in the game recognized them at first, and fewer expected them to last more than a year, remembers Glenn Quiroga , tribal treasurer. Three years later, Sycuan Ringside Promotions is not only succeeding, it's also producing champions — five at last count. Their pride and joy: Shawn Hawk, a Sioux light heavyweight who is 13-0 with 11 knockouts and positioned to become the best Native American fighter in history. "We're planning on staying," Quiroga says. "We've been here for 12,000 years. We're not going anywhere soon." Nor is Seminole Warriors Boxing, based in Hollywood, Florida and an enterprise of the 4,100-member Seminole tribe, another nation with a highly successful gaming business. Its $1 million operation features a stable of 20 fighters, including four world champions. The Seminoles and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation co-promoted a boxing card last May in Hollywood, Florida, dubbed "Tribal Pride," in which Sycuan fighter Julio Diaz won the interim International Boxing Federation's lightweight championship with a unanimous decision against Ricky Quiles, who represented the Seminole tribe. Seminole Warriors Boxing is one of 14 businesses the tribe is involved in, including ownership of a motocross track. The tribe also runs a pool tournament. Before the Sycuan Band got into gaming, the tribal members had no indoor plumbing and lived in trailers, Quiroga says. That's changed. The tribe also used gaming revenue to remodel the Ulysses S. Grant hotel for $52 million. Ironically, Grant was the president who, by executive order, created many Indian reservations. "A sweet win for us," Quiroga says of the hotel restoration. Similarly, gaming revenue let the Yakama Nation buy the Yakima ( Wash. ) Sun Kings, a Continental Basketball Association team, for $140,000 in 2005. Appropriately, the announcement was made in the tribe's Legends Casino in Toppenish, Wash. The 10,000-member tribe is the first to buy a men's professional basketball team. The club, renamed the Yakama Sun Kings, averages 3,200 a game and won its fourth title last season. On the roster this season: Richard Dionne, a 6-5 forward from Montana who is a Fort Peck tribal member.
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