Golden Flake Ends SEC Sponsorship After 30 Years, Will Instead Focus On Individual Schools

Alabama-based snack food company Golden Flake, one of two original SEC sponsors, has ended its partnership after 30 years. Golden Flake will continue its long-running sponsorship of both the Univ. of Alabama and Auburn Univ., and will add deals with other schools in the Southeast region (Golden Flake). In Birmingham, Dawn Kent Azok noted Golden Flake's sponsorship ended June 1, in what is "being described as a return to the company's roots." Golden Flake President & CEO Mark McCutcheon said, "The footprint matched our footprint for years." But Kent Azok noted as the SEC has expanded, that is "no longer the case." McCutcheon said, "Missouri is in the conference now, but we're barely in Missouri, so that doesn't do us a lot of good." The company's market is "concentrated in the Southeast." McCutcheon said that the move has "been under consideration for nearly a year" (AL.com, 7/16). See the sponsorship portfolio, key contacts and service providers for the SEC by clicking here.