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Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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With this year’s slate of bowl games beginning Saturday, here’s a look at some of the sponsorship plays behind the games.
41 Bowl games
38 Bowl committees
34 Bowls with title sponsors
4 Bowls with presenting sponsors
1 Bowl with two presenting sponsors (Hawaii)
1 Bowl with both a title sponsor and presenting sponsor (AutoNation Cure Bowl presented by Florida Hospital)
435 Brands designated by those bowl committees as top-tier partners
16 Bowl games that have at least one sponsor that is a beer, wine or spirits brand
| Alcohol company |
No. of bowl sponsorships |
Bowl(s) |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev |
11 |
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl; AutoZone Liberty Bowl; BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl; Capital One Orange Bowl; Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl; Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman; Motel 6 Cactus Bowl; Outback Bowl; Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl; TaxSlayer Bowl; Valero Alamo Bowl |
| MillerCoors |
4 |
AutoZone Liberty Bowl; Birmingham Bowl; Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic; Raycom Media Camellia Bowl |
| Tito's Handmade Vodka |
3 |
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl; TaxSlayer Bowl; Valero Alamo Bowl |
| Heineken USA |
2 |
College Football Playoff National Championship Game; Hawai'i Bowl |
| Bacardi USA |
1 |
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl |
| Corona |
1 |
Capital One Orange Bowl |
| Greg Norman Estates |
1 |
TaxSlayer Bowl |
| Jim Beam (Maker's Mark) |
1 |
TaxSlayer Bowl |
| Pernod Ricard (Beefeater) |
1 |
TaxSlayer Bowl |
| Rex Goliath Wine |
1 |
Valero Alamo Bowl |
| SelvaRey Rum |
1 |
TaxSlayer Bowl |
| Southern Wine and Spirits (Avion Tequila) |
1 |
TaxSlayer Bowl |
| Wiser's Canadian Whisky |
1 |
TaxSlayer Bowl |
SPIRITED SUPPORT
■ Sixteen bowl games have at least one sponsor that is a beer, wine or spirits brand. Of those 16, the TaxSlayer Bowl leads the way with eight such partners. On the brand side, Anheuser-Busch InBev ranks first, with a presence at 11 games, followed by MillerCoors (4), Titos Handmade Vodka (3) and Heineken (2). In sum, 13 alcohol brands have a total of 29 bowl sponsor agreements.
Among the bowls: Games that have at least one alcohol sponsor
■ AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl
■ AutoZone Liberty Bowl
■ BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl
■ Birmingham Bowl
■ Capital One Orange Bowl
■ College Football Playoff National Championship Game
■ Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
■ Hawai’i Bowl
■ Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
■ Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman
■ Motel 6 Cactus Bowl
■ Outback Bowl
■ Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
■ Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
■ TaxSlayer Bowl
■ Valero Alamo Bowl
TaxSlayer Bowl ranks first, with eight alcohol partners.
■ Anheuser-Busch InBev
■ Greg Norman Estates
■ Jim Beam (Maker’s Mark)
■ Pernod Ricard (Beefeater)
■ SelvaRey Rum
■ Southern Wine and Spirits (Avion Tequila)
■ Tito’s Handmade Vodka
■ Wiser’s Canadian Whisky
36 percent of the sponsorship agreements designated by bowl committees as top-tier deals this year are held by 15 companies. Leading the way is PrimeSport, an Atlanta-based company that sells tickets and travel packages.
The 15 brands that sponsor the most bowls are:
| Company |
No. sponsorships |
| PrimeSport |
20 |
| Allstate |
15 |
| Hilton Worldwide |
13 |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev; Coca-Cola; Marriott International; TicketCity |
11 each |
| Chick-fil-A |
10 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Association |
9 |
| AT&T; Dr Pepper Snapple Group; Hyatt Hotels; Royal Purple Synthetic Oil; Wells Fargo |
8 each |
| Nike |
7 |
11 brands that have a bowl game title sponsorship also sponsor another bowl. For example, Tampa-based Outback Steakhouse boasts in its hometown the longest college bowl game title sponsorship in history and hosts the player team dinners for the Outback Bowl each year. But the restaurant also sponsors and hosts the welcome dinners at the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl and is a Birmingham Bowl partner, as well.
Among the 11 title sponsors, Allstate leads the way, with 15 total bowl deals.
| Title sponsor |
Total no. of bowl sponsorships |
| Allstate |
15 |
| Chick-fil-A |
10 |
| Royal Purple Synthetic Oil |
8 |
| Gildan Activewear; Zaxby's |
4 each |
| AdvoCare International; Hyundai; Outback Steakhouse |
3 each |
| AutoNation; Buffalo Wild Wings; Capital One |
2 each |
Sources: Bowl committees
