College Football’s Expansion means More Opportunities for Sponsors

In one way, college football expansion could lead to retraction.

But only in one way. And even that development can grow the sport’s already vast corporate reach.

College football’s inaugural 12-team playoff, a tripling of its previous format, creates a dual impact, one at the Valhalla occupied by the Big Ten and SEC and a second at the next two tiers of conferences. That disparity fully declares itself this coming weekend when all the conferences hold their championships across the country. Half football games and half festivals, these events compel teams’ rabid fan bases to travel great distances for the privilege of eating, drinking and being merry with their fellow enthusiasts in this last stop before the postseason.

Sponsors already support much of what occurs and is viewed at these gatherings. Yet the sport’s continued growth, orbiting around the larger playoff picture, should create considerably more opportunities.

Let’s look at how the two groups, first the Big Ten and SEC and then the rest of the NCAA Division I Football Subdivision, can leverage this changing landscape vis-a-vis their championship weekend experiences.

1. The power duo. It’s just a mathematical reality that when a sport adds playoff teams, it creates a safety net for more high-achieving programs. When you preview the championship contests for the Big Ten and SEC, both having just expanded, speaking of that concept, to further cement their status as the top two conferences, you see that the former’s finalists Oregon and Penn State will face off only for postseason seeding, while the latter’s Texas stands safely as Georgia might have to win it to stay in it.

We know that sports fans, bless us all, can work ourselves into a lather regardless of the stakes. But the stakes are undisputedly smaller. Slightly retracted, if you will. Seeding does not equate to surviving.

So how can these conferences, equipped to dominate the landscape for years to come, ensure that their championship games remain can’t-miss events? They can amp up the party atmosphere.

Dr. Pepper will sponsor the Fan Fests at both the Big Ten gathering in Indianapolis and the SEC affair in Atlanta. Also at the Big Ten site, Ducks and Nittany Lions supporters can find “Tailgate Town” on nearby South Street, featuring an eating competition with shrimp cocktails from Indy culinary institution St. Elmo. Back in Atlanta, meanwhile, T-Mobile will host the SEC Championship Concert featuring Dan + Shay.

These two cities have served as the only hosts in the history of the respective events, and the conferences’ geographic expansion hasn’t motivated them to take this jewel event on tour. On the contrary, both conferences have expressed satisfaction with these cities’ institutional knowledge. The Big Ten game, welcoming its first-ever title sponsor this year in Discover, will stay in Indianapolis through at least 2028, while the SEC contest is linked to Atlanta through at least 2031.

The two conferences can learn from each other and challenge each other to do more. Why not a sponsored tailgate in Atlanta? Why not a sponsored big-time concert in Indianapolis? Why not sponsored halftime concerts at both sites? Expanding the fan fests into Sunday, featuring hangover brunches, for those who don’t need to hurry back home? The possibilities go on and on, no matter that these games’ participants usually won’t be facing a do-or-die scenario. They’ll show up when invited because that’s what big-time college football fans do.

2. The next tier. Had the 2024 ACC and Big 12 championship matchups been held in 2023, they would have represented mere diversions, generating the attention of only the die-hards and gamblers. Neither would have been relevant to the playoffs.

Now? The winners of these games, SMU and Clemson, will face off for the ACC crown in Charlotte, and Arizona State and Iowa State will go at it for the Big 12 title in Arlington, Texas, are guaranteed a slot in the tournament, whereas the losers likely will head to a non-playoff bowl game. The enthusiasm level, both in person and in viewership, should explode.

Dr. Pepper already serves as the title sponsor for the Big 12 Championship, and Ne-Yo will perform at halftime. The ACC will host a FanFest. The conferences know what they’re doing, no surprise. Which means they’ll be able to leverage their greatly enhanced platforms. Game title sponsors, concert sponsors, fan fest sponsors? Yes to all of the above.

Moving further down the hierarchy, the American Athletic and Mountain West conferences will host championship games with playoff implications. USAA will be the presenting sponsor when Army hosts Tulane in West Point, NY for the AAC tilt, and Old Trapper owns the naming rights as Boise State hosts UNLV in Idaho for the Mountain West battle. Suddenly these games matter to the greater college football audience.

Sports purists tend to deride expanded playoffs, and the reduced stakes of the Big Ten and SEC games could be their Exhibit A. Yet this new format represents a boon for both football democracy, with more strong teams enjoying an opportunity to win it all, and football capitalism, with more big games justifying more big investments. Their future’s so bright, they gotta wear shades. Sponsored shades, naturally.