Outback back with Tampa bowl
Outback Steakhouse Inc. signed a four-year extension as title sponsor of the Outback Bowl college football game played each New Year's Day in Tampa. The Tampa-based restaurant chain will retain naming rights to the game through Jan. 1, 2006, by which time the combined payout to participating teams will climb to $5.7 million. The Outback Bowl hosts the third-place team from the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences, and ESPN broadcasts the game. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Burger King is Globetrotting
Burger King Corp. in Miami will be the Harlem Globetrotters' world tour title sponsor and will match a donation by the team tied to its touring buses to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The Harlem Globetrotters pledged a $1 donation for every mile traveled in the United States during the coming season by the team buses, up to 100,000 miles.
CFL welcomes bank to roster
The Canadian Football League and Laurentian Bank of Canada signed a "potential three-year deal" for league sponsorship. The deal will also include involvement in the Grey Cup, the CFL's championship game. Financial details were not released.
Castrol goes fishin'
Castrol and Operation Bass Inc. agreed on a multiyear sponsorship deal that makes Castrol the official motor oil and cleaner of Operation Bass' bass and walleye fishing tournament programs. Starting in 2002, Castrol will put a four-person fishing team on the water in specially designed Castrol Ranger boats. Terms of the deal were not announced.
