Everyone and their mother know that collegiate institutions are continuously looking to generate more revenue with the ever-increasing demands of NIL and the roster “rat race.”
The Big 12 has been criticized for its deal with Monster, the energy drink company with an iconic electric green “M” as a logo.
Not because of the deal itself, but because of the location of the logo on each school’s basketball court and their football jerseys.
They didn’t color-orient the Monster logo to the respective school’s
team colors.
Not too much of a classy look on an orange Oklahoma State or purple TCU jersey.
Those within the Treasure Valley have long thought that a partnership with the likes of Micron or Simplot would serve as a win-win for the community and Bronco football.
But on Tuesday, reports surfaced that a group of 13 schools had come to an agreement with Progressive Insurance to display the company’s logo on each of the participant’s football fields.
According to Ben Portnoy of the Sports Business Journal, “the placement will vary from the sideline to the 50- and 25-yard line.”
Further, he details that Learfield EVP/Global Partnerships Shawn Hegan prioritized, in conjunction with the insurance company, “That Progressive looked at an opportunity to scale a solution and have a presence on 13 different football fields is one of a kind. They were super strategic in their school selection, a lot of analytics, but also looking for programs that really matched up with their identity as a brand.”
Boise State was the only non-Power Four institution to be involved in this arrangement.
The other 12 schools include Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, SMU, Syracuse, Texas Tech, USC and Wake Forest.
However, a late afternoon news dump via the Boise State social media department revealed that the Progressive logo will be placed right under the iconic Bronco head at the 50-yard line.
Here is the full-field version.
The reception to the news has been mixed, particularly about the placement of the logo.
To the neutral observer, one has to think that there had to be a pretty price tag associated with the move.
The modern world of college sports requires breaking the mold, even if traditionalists may shudder at the idea of a corporate sponsor “invading” the sanctity of the school’s trademark brand.
Money talks.
