In Play: Dick’s Sporting Goods Named Official Partner Of NCAA, March Madness
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 04:21PM By Barry Janoff
March 8, 2023: On the eve of March Madness, the NCAA has added another sponsor, naming Dick’s as its “official sporting goods retail partner.”
The alliance includes all 90 of the NCAA Men's and Women's championships, beginning with the Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments.
Financial terms of the alliance were not shared. but was called a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal by industry analysts.
Dick’s joins NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola; and Corporate Partners Aflac, Buffalo Wild Wings, Buick, Great Clips, Invesco, LG, Marriott Bonvoy, Nabisco, Nissan, Pizza Hut, Reese’s, Unilever and Wendy’s.
Dick’s said the ”expansive partnership is the most recent step in a concerted effort by Dick’s Sporting Goods to illustrate the power of sports and the impact they can have.”
"We are excited to partner with the NCAA in our pursuit to change lives through sport for athletes and fans alike,” Ed Plummer, Dick’s svp/CMO, said via the national retailer.
“And what better time to tip-off our partnership than during March Madness. We look forward to activating across both the men's and women's basketball tournaments and more broadly across other championships throughout the year.”
Dick’s said activation during March Madness would include courtside signage and exclusive content production, along with access to NCAA fan events. Dick’s will receive category-exclusive rights to NCAA-owned historical championship footage, which will be used to create custom content.
As an official retail partner, Dick’s will receive product category exclusive access to official NCAA licensed merchandise for promotional purposes only available to official NCAA Corporate Champions and Partners.
The NCAA said Dick’s would have exclusive category sponsorship rights to select fan events during the Men's Final Four and Women's Final Four games.
They include the Kids Zone at Men's Final Four Fan Festival, Women's Final Four Open Practices, Ferris Wheel at Men's Final Four Tip-Off Tailgate and Women's Final Four Mascot University at Tourney Town.
Separately, Dick’s and Just Women’s Sports are running a March Madness Bracket Challenge (not part of its NCAA deal), offering a grand prize of $150,000.
"We're thrilled to welcome Dick’s Sporting Goods to the NCAA Corporate Champion and Partner Program," Dan Gavitt, NCAA svp-basketball, said via the organization.
"Dick’s Sporting Goods and NCAA form a wonderful partnership that will help enhance all 90 Championships. We look forward to working together on our collective goals, which center around supporting student-athletes and their overall achievements."
The deal was facilitated by CBS Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery Sport, which jointly manage and collaborate on the NCAA's Corporate Champions and Partners program.
"We are excited to add Dick’s Sporting Goods to our roster of NCAA Corporate Partners," Chris Simko, svp-CBS Sports sales and marketing, Paramount Advertising, said via the company.
"Dick’s has long been admired for celebrating all those who participate in sports, from the weekend warriors to the elite performers, and recognizing just how much it means to the athletes and communities in which they live.”
According to Simko, “As the Official Sporting Goods Retail Partner of all 90 NCAA Men's and Women's Championships, Dick’s will be able to uniquely enhance the student-athlete and fan experience at each of these events throughout the year."
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