IMG COLLEGE, a division of IMG Worldwide, and UPS have reached a groundbreaking sponsorship agreement worth $120 million over six years, giving UPS access to the largest, best educated and most affluent fan base in US sports.
Drawing on IMG College's national network of collegiate assets and relationships, which have been consolidated over several years, UPS will receive exclusive branding and promotional rights in the shipping, freight and logistics category for Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences.
The deal gives Atlanta-based UPS access to an array of marketing assets, channels and intellectual property, including logo rights to nearly 70 colleges and game-day activation at over 250 college venues.
The deal also includes TV, radio and digital channel advertising rights and customised integrated marketing platforms aligned to UPS business objectives.
"UPS's sponsorship confirms the strong value of the college fan base and our new platform where the footprint is national and the sponsorships live locally," said Ben Sutton, President of IMG College. "We believe this is the largest non-network TV sponsorship in the history of college sports, reaching fans coast to coast."
According to IMG College, the collegiate media rights provide advertising and branding opportunities within nearly 5,000 hours of college sports television programming and more than 28,000 hours of radio programming produced annually.
The agreement with UPS includes radio and TV advertising during IMG broadcasts of American football and men's basketball coaches shows as well as in the play-by-play radio coverage; stadium and area signage; and ads in game-day publications and on the school's official athletic web sites.
IMG College will partner with UPS to create experiential opportunities based on unique on-field and on-court access at select IMG College partner schools. Additionally, on behalf of UPS, IMG College will implement a brand ambassador program with luminaries such as coaching legends through its talent and multimedia relationships.
IMG College claims there are 172 million college sports fans in the United States, including 29 million who earn $100,000 or more annually. There are also 77 million female fans of college sports according to IMG.