History has been made by the Texas Longhorns. On Tuesday, the school announced that they had inked a sponsorship deal with Corona Extra. Horns up and bottoms up, with a lime!
The University of Texas reaches sponsorship deal with Corona Extra. #HookEm pic.twitter.com/5PeflQGAfi
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) July 5, 2017
The sponsorship deal is a five-year agreement between Texas and Corona and was negotiated with the help of IMG College, the exclusive rights holder for Texas. The financial terms of the agreement have not been shared, but Corona will create custom Longhorn beer taps, will coordinate sweepstakes, and run Corona ads on the Longhorn Network. In addition, Corona will sponsor a branded tailgating event prior to home football games in Austin while also being tasked with selling a responsible drinking message to Texas fans.
Uh-huh. Good luck with that one.
Texas Football brought to you by Corona. Find your Beach. pic.twitter.com/qgDQOyl8hj
— John (@jgrimesbaylor) July 5, 2017
Expecting Texas A&M fan groups to unofficially ban Corona at Aggie tailgates ASAP
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) July 5, 2017
This opens the door wide open for colleges and universities in search of extra revenue sources. Now that the precedent has been established, expect similar deals to begin popping up around the country, similar to how the spread of alcohol sales at football and basketball games continues to spread like a wild fire throughout the nation. It will start with big name programs that can command top dollar and trickle down. Now that Texas has an official beer, do not be shocked when you see schools like Ohio State, Texas A&M, Florida, Miami, and so on start evaluating potential sponsorships.
This has been long overdue, however. Beer and college sports have gone hand-in-hand for many fans for generations, but never in an official capacity. That is no longer the case.
