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Hoops tournament adds presenting sponsor

The Basketball Tournament, the open-application summer event now in its third year and backed by several longtime industry executives, has signed Jack Link’s as its presenting sponsor.

The deal puts the beef jerky and snack foods maker’s name into the event’s official logo. Other deal points include on-court and in-arena signage, digital and social media rights, a TV media buy, and in-store retail rights.

Jack Link’s sponsored The Basketball Tournament’s championship game last year. Financial terms of the new one-year deal were not disclosed.

THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Presenting sponsor: Jack Link’s
Registration: April 1-July 1
Competition: July through early August
Teams in the field: 96
Prize money: At least $1 million
TV partner: ESPN

“We view The Basketball Tournament as something as an innovative new concept, and from that perspective it was a good fit for our brand,” said Kevin Papacek, marketing director for Jack Link’s. “It is a way for the common fan to participate. We have seen a lot of interest on ESPN and on other sports networks that do features on the teams. There is an opportunity for our brand to get more exposure.”

Founded in 2014 by Jon Mugar, The Basketball Tournament’s advisers include former Anheuser-Busch sports marketing chief Tony Ponturo, who now runs Ponturo Management Group; former top NBA and NFL executive Andy Dolich, who now runs Dolich Consulting; and veteran television executive Len DeLuca, who now works for WME/IMG and runs the Len DeLuca & Associates consulting group.

The winning team in this year’s five-on-five, single-elimination event will take home at least $1 million; organizers are still finalizing the specific amount. After registering, teams must get at least 100 votes of support either through The Basketball Tournament’s Facebook page or website. The 96 teams that accumulate the most votes will be entered into the field.

The competition is scheduled to begin in July in four locations still to be determined. Last year, the four designated regional sites were Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

The semifinal and final games will be carried by ESPN, with their dates and locations still to be finalized as well. Last year’s semis and final were played at Fordham University in New York.

Organizers said they kept 10 to 12 team spots open for elite non-NBA players last year and are likely to do the same this year. Active college players would forfeit their amateur status should they participate.

Overseas Elite, a team featuring players from international pro teams, won the event last year. A team of Notre Dame alumni won in 2014.

Participants must be at least 18 years old.

“Jack Link’s has the presenting position, but we are talking to 15 brands about taking cornerstone positions,” said Mugar, CEO of The Basketball Tournament. “This [deal] is the biggest of what we hope will be four or five this year.”

Equity Sports Partners, led by Cliff Kaplan, negotiated the deal for The Basketball Tournament. Jack Link’s did not use an agency in the deal.

Other sponsorships for Wisconsin-based Jack Link’s include deals with the Minnesota Wild and with Major League Fishing.

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