headtopics
Finally, a College Sports Jersey-Patch Sponsorship That Makes Sense Wisconsin is going into business with a familiar face.
Back in February, LSU lifted the lid on the jersey-patch sponsorship era of college athletics by inking a deal with Woodside Energyan Australian oil conglomerate.
With all due respect to Woodside Energy, however, it seems reasonable to guess that few Tigers fans have gone to Perth to buy oil in recent years.
Culvers has agreed to place its insignia on the Badgers football, mens basketball and mens hockey jerseys, it announced Tuesday morning.There are few things more quintessentially Wisconsin than Culvers.
This partnership is a natural fit for our jersey sponsorshipits a beloved brand among Badgers and a longtime partner of Wisconsin athletics, Badgers deputy athletic directorThe fast-casual chainextremely popular in the Midwest, and particularly in its home state and Illinoiswas born in the village of Sauk City, about a 40-minute drive from Madison.
The chains current headquarters are located in a nearby village, Prairie du Sac.There are five Culvers located within the Madison city limits in all, and any Badgers fan worth their salt will shower you with memories of post-victory Culvers trips if asked."Chancellor Mnookin and I are aligned on significantly elevating investment in our program to compete at the highest level," then-Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh toldin November.
"We are willing to make an investment in infrastructure and staff.
As important is our ability to retain and recruit players in a revenue share and NIL era." Both Mnookin and McIntosh have left the university since then, but the point stands.
The commercial age has been a mixed bag for the Badgers flagship mens sports teams.
In football, Wisconsin has yet to gain a foothold under coach Luke Fickell, who enters his fourth full season with a 17-21 record after going 57-18 at Cincinnati.Mens basketball coach Greg Gard has fared significantly better, but the Badgers havent made it to the NCAA tournaments second weekend since upsetting No.
1 seed andVillanova to reach the 2017 Sweet 16.
In mens hockey, Wisconsin hasnt won an NCAA tournament game since losing the national championship to Boston College in 2010.once wrote.However, if youre going to add oneespecially in the ostensibly more public-minded world of college sportsits best to bring in a business familiar to your fans.
As the Badgers press release noted, well see the patches for the first time when Wisconsin opens its football season against Notre Dame on Sept.
6 .Despite the blue-red color clash, if jersey patch sponsorships are indeed here to stay, lets hope the Badgers move starts a trend.
Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated.
He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest.
Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game.He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .