Russell Athletic, a division of Russell Corporation, has reached an agreement in principal to renew its Bowl Championship Series sponsorship with ESPN and ABC Sports for the next two seasons, which goes through the championship game in January 2006.
The renewal will give Russell Athletic the exclusive presenting sponsorship of the “The Road to the Bowl Championship Series” including “Russell Athletic Player of the Game” segments on several ESPN college football games. Financial terms were not disclosed, although category exclusivity is a key component of the deal.
“The first year of our partnership with ESPN and ABC Sports was an outstanding success. It provided us a wonderful vehicle to share our Are You Russell Material? campaign with our consumers, and it also enabled us to build Russell Athletic as a truly authentic, athletic brand. We are very excited to continue our partnership with such an authentic sports entity as ESPN and ABC Sports,” said Rod McGeachy, vice president of marketing of Russell Athletic, the countrys largest team uniform manufacturer.
Similar to last years agreement, the renewed sponsorship will include 30-second in-game units on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 as well as BCS Bowl games. Russell Athletic will also receive 60-second vignettes leading up to the BCS Championship Games on ESPN and ABC. The entire sponsorship package features print and online components, marketing and licensing usage rights of BCS logos, and hospitality.
“The Bowl Championship Series is one of our premier events and we're pleased to have Russell Athletic on board with us for the next two years,” said Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN and ABC Sports Customer Marketing and Sales. “This relationship captures the authenticity of the Russell Athletic brand and utilizes all the ESPN and ABC Sports properties to help activate our fans.”
