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 San Francisco, Calif., April 19, 2010 -- The San Francisco Bowl Game Association, organizers of the annual college football bowl game played at AT&T Park, announced that Kraft Foods will be the game's new title sponsor for the next three years.
The game will be known as the "Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl" and will be part of a broader hunger relief program Kraft Foods plans to kick off in September in collaboration with Feeding America, the nation's leading hunger-relief organization.
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl will be carried nationally in prime time by ESPN on Sunday, January 9, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. (Pacific), pitting teams from the Pacific-10 (PAC-10) and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The game is one of college football's most popular bowl games, boasting three sellouts in four years and annual television rating increases.
"This is a great day for our game," said Gary Cavalli, the Bowl's co-founder and the only Executive Director in its eight-year history. "We're proud and excited to partner with Kraft Foods, one of the most well-known and highly-respected companies in the world."
"This agreement ensures that we have a bright future," added Cavalli. "With Kraft Foods as our title sponsor, and the distinction of being the only bowl focused on a meaningful social cause, we will continue to build the game and take it to the next level."
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl will be the culmination of a 2010 national hunger initiative in collaboration with Feeding America, building upon a decades-long partnership to fight hunger. "Through our long-standing relationship with Feeding America, Kraft Foods has helped millions of families in need in the US," said Stephen Chriss, Senior Director, Marketing Partnerships, Kraft Foods North America.
"We're thrilled to be the new sponsors of the San Francisco Bowl Game. It's a great opportunity to build awareness of this important issue and inspire more Americans to join the fight against hunger."
The agreement is another example of Kraft Foods' strategy to showcase its power brands on big stages, which has already resulted in several high-profile sports marketing initiatives. "Our strategic approach is to leverage these partnerships to connect our flagship brands to key audiences in a big way," added Chriss. "They provide major opportunities for integrated marketing and merchandising platforms that create excitement in and out of store."
Kraft Foods' new title sponsorship of the Fight Hunger Bowl is part of a three-year agreement with the San Francisco Bowl Game Association. The financial terms were not disclosed.
Since beginning its affiliation with the Pac-10 Conference in 2006, the Bowl has produced three of the top-rated telecasts in ESPN history. Over the next four years, the game will match a PAC-10 representative against the top team in the WAC, twice, with Army scheduled in 2011 and Navy in 2012.
"We will continue to showcase the Pacific-10 Conference in the game, as this strategy has worked well for us in the past," Cavalli said. "The proximity of the WAC schools to San Francisco and the tremendous appeal of the service academies will mean more sellout crowds, big television ratings and exciting football in the greatest city in the world."
The not-for-profit association has been the driving force behind the Bowl game since its inception in 2002. In that time, the game, played at San Francisco's AT&T Park, has generated nearly $100 million in economic impact for the City and County of San Francisco. Several of college football's most storied programs have already participated in the contest, formerly known as the Emerald Bowl. They include onetime national champions USC, Miami and Florida State, plus California, Boston College, UCLA, Oregon State and Utah.
The 2009 game between USC and Boston College was ESPN's third-most-watched college football bowl game ever. The Jan. 9, 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl will mark the game's fifth straight kickoff in prime time.
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