USA Hockey Signs Deal With Toyota, Filling Auto Category For First Time Since '04

USA Hockey has signed Toyota as its new automotive sponsor. The deal, which runs through the '14 Sochi Games, will see the automaker become title sponsor of the USA Hockey National Championships. Financial terms were not available. Toyota is USA Hockey's first auto sponsor since '04, when GM ended its relationship with the NGB. USA Hockey Senior Marketing Dir Lee Meyer said, "This is a category that's important for us to fill and it's important to our members because of the size of vehicles they need to haul a lot of equipment. Toyota felt like a good fit because of the way they approach their consumer and their market and the types of vehicles they have match our members' needs." Meyer and USA Hockey Assistant Exec Dir of Marketing & Communications Mike Bertsch worked on the deal with Toyota's ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi. The deal is USA Hockey's first new deal this year. It recently renewed its agreements with Liberty Mutual, Reebok-CCM, and others.