Arizona State Hires The Aspire Group

Arizona State Univ. has hired Atlanta-based The Aspire Group to manage its ticketing sales and marketing. Aspire will embed a 30-person staff within the Sun Devils’ athletic department to work on ticket renewals, new sales, premium seating sales and group tickets. The size of the staff will ma ...

Aaron's Signs On To Sponsor 30 Colleges

Aaron’s, the Atlanta-based retailer for furniture sales and rentals, has signed a deal to sponsor 30 colleges, including Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, BYU, Duke, Florida, Georgia and Michigan. The deal was negotiated by IMG College, the multimedia rights holder for these schools, and represe ...

Tags: Marketing and Sponsorship

Warner To Endorse Amway's Nutrilite Brand

Amway has brought on former NFLer Kurt Warner to endorse its vitamin and nutritional supplement brand, Nutrilite, through a promotion called the “Ultimate Football Experience” on Facebook. Four sweepstakes winners will travel to Phoenix to meet Warner, now an analyst for NFL Network, a ...

IMG College Restructures Sales Force

A restructuring of IMG College’s sales force this week has resulted in a 3% reduction in headcount, or a total of 11 people from the 330-person staff. The company said it is moving from a conference-based sales structure to a regional approach, segmenting the country into five regions –& ...

Learfield Sells Majority Stake In Company

Learfield Sports, a pioneer in collegiate marketing, has sold a majority stake of the company to an L.A.-based private equity firm. Shamrock Capital Advisors, which also has stakes in the Harlem Globetrotters and Thought Equity Motion, as well as other media and technology companies, bought what Lea ...

NCAA Launching New iPhone App

The NCAA and its digital media partner, Turner Sports, are launching a new iPhone app called “NCAA Sports” that provides live video streaming of more than 60 NCAA championship events across Divisions I, II and III. The NCAA app will feature score updates throughout the year, live and on- ...

Tags: Media, NCAA

Ginger Howard To Endorse Sun Life Financial

LPGA prospect Ginger Howard , who turned pro this summer and recently signed with IMG Golf, will endorse Sun Life Financial, the company said. IMG’s David Livingston is representing her management and marketing. Howard, 17, was a student at the IMG Leadbetter Academy and has progressed thro ...

Symetra To Title LPGA Developmental Tour

The developmental leg of the LPGA will be known as the Symetra Tour, Road to the LPGA, in a three-year deal that includes course signage, hospitality and integration into some LPGA TV programming. Symetra Financial, based in Bellevue, Wash., gets broad financial service category rights, exclusive of ...

Tags: Marketing and Sponsorship, LPGA

Notre Dame AD Swarbrick Talks Realignment

To the disappointment of about 300 Wake Forest boosters Saturday, Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick said the school is not involved in any discussions about joining a conference in football. Swarbrick joined Wake Forest AD Ron Wellman for a discussion about intercollegiate athletics Saturday morning at B ...

Tags: Colleges

Kia Signs Three-Year Sponsorship With SEC

Kia Motors has signed a three-year deal to be an official sponsor of the SEC. Financial terms were not announced, but the Kia Sorento will serve as the conference’s official vehicle for all championship events and FanFare fan events. The deal was negotiated by SEC Sports Marketing, a property ...