Dick’s Sporting Goods is getting ready to play a new game with the NCAA.
The Pittsburgh company has been named the college-sports league’s official sporting-goods retailer, a new partnership that will become quickly visible during the NCAA’s “March Madness” basketball tournament and is part of a multi-million dollar deal that will give Dick’s on-court signage and exclusive access to select fan events.
Commercials purchased in game inventory from CBS Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which televise the March Madness games, are a strong element of the deal. Dick’s also plans to have a presence at NCAA women’s Final Four Open Practices, which has not had an active on-site sponsor in the past. Dick’s plans to invest in media around the women’s basketball tournament on Disney’s ESPN.
“We are excited to partner with the NCAA in our pursuit to change lives through sport for athletes and fans alike. And what better time to tip off our partnership than during March Madness?” said Ed Plummer, Dick’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, in a prepared statement.
The pact takes Dick’s well beyond the popular basketball event. In all ,the company will be able to have a presence at 90 different NCAA men’s and women’s championship. Dick’s also receives product category exclusive access to official NCAA licensed merchandise for promotional purposes only available to top tier NCAA sponsors. The company also gets category-exclusive rights to NCAA-owned historical championship footage, which will be used to create custom content.
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament kicks off March 14.