Soft drinks brand Dr Pepper has reached an agreement with US sports broadcaster ESPN to become the first official championship partner and a presenting sponsor of the new College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy.
Dr Pepper’s association represents the highest level of sponsorship activation for the College Football National Championship, which will begin in 2014-15 and crown the leading collegiate American football team. Terms of the agreement were undisclosed.
ESPN’s various multimedia platforms will grant exposure to the trophy during the regular season, including stops at marquee games. The trophy will also be featured over the course of the postseason and the College Football Playoff, before being presented to the winning team for the first time on January 12, 2015.
Dr Pepper has an established presence in college football and the announcement confirmed its renewal as an official sponsor of the Southeastern Conference collegiate athletic organisation and long-term commitment to ESPN and the new SEC Network, which is set to launch in August this year.
The deal also includes intellectual property rights and category exclusivity for all marketing and promotional activities involving the SEC and its championship events, as well as a positioning with SEC Nation – the SEC Network’s traveling campus-based pre-game show.
Dr Pepper will continue its title sponsorship of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship football game on ESPN in early December as well as being the presenting sponsor of the Pac-12 Championship telecast. The company is also the title sponsor of the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway, a season-long programme that provides tuition-based awards to deserving students across the US.