Southeastern Conference bags Belk deal

US department store Belk has announced a six-year sponsorship deal with college sports organisation the Southeastern Conference.

Belk will serve as the official retail department store of the SEC, granting the company access to all SEC championship properties including the SEC FanFare events that are held annually in conjunction with the SEC Football Championship Game and Men’s Basketball Tournament.

SEC will launch the SEC Network, a multi-platform broadcast offering operated by ESPN that is dedicated exclusively to its content, in August this year. Belk is set to enjoy prime exposure across SEC Network programming.

The SEC Network will air 45 college American football games, more than 100 men’s basketball games, 60 women’s basketball games, 75 baseball games and events from across the SEC’s 21 sports annually.

Belk already serves as the title sponsor of the Belk Bowl – an annual college American football game between a team from the SEC and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The financial terms of Belk’s broader deal with the SEC were undisclosed.