AdvoCare Signs Three-Year Deal as Texas Bowl Title Sponsor

AdvoCare has been named the new title sponsor of the Texas Bowl, ampoule a postseason collegiate football game, ed | it was announced today.

Owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, and managed locally by Lone Star Sports & Entertainment (LSSE), the Houston-based event will now be known as the AdvoCare Texas Bowl. The initial agreement is for three years through the 2016 bowl game and aligns with their sponsorship of the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff – a Labor Day weekend college football game.

Teams from the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conferences will square off at Reliant Stadium starting in December 2014. The new agreement with the SEC will give the Texas Bowl the ability to showcase two of the country’s premier conferences against one another for the next six years. The extension with the Big 12 results in a higher selection order for the game. The Texas Bowl will now select after teams have been chosen for the College Football Playoff, followed by the Alamo and Russell Athletic Bowls.

“We are excited to have AdvoCare as the title sponsor of the bowl,” Clint Overby, senior director of events, ESPN Regional Television, said in the release. “Having them share our vision in bookending the year with two exciting football games is a tremendous positive and provides the opportunity to continue to grow the game and showcase college football in the City of Houston.”

The deal comes on the heels of AdvoCare’s five-year sponsorship of the Independence Bowl in Shreveport. AdvoCare vowed to double its payout if the Shreveport area could up its ante, too. AdvoCare’s president and CEO, Richard Wright, a Shreveporter, wanted his hometown’s bowl game to get better selections in the SEC and ACC.

Local politcians balked at a hotel tax to help fund the game’s efforts to move up the ladder. Therefore, as promised, AdvoCare took its money elsewhere.

“We are excited to expand our relationship with a Texas company like AdvoCare to celebrate the culture, heritage and football tradition of the Lone Star State through this game,” said David Fletcher, executive director, AdvoCare Texas Bowl. “With the Big 12 and the SEC, two of America’s elite football conferences, coming together now each year in Houston for the AdvoCare Texas Bowl, it further solidifies the city of Houston and Reliant Stadium as a premier destination for college football.”

“Building brand awareness is one of our primary goals at AdvoCare, and we are proud to join the Texas Bowl in 2014 to continue in these efforts,” said Mike Vaught, AdvoCare Director of Corporate Sponsorships. “The sponsorship of the AdvoCare Texas Bowl is a powerful opportunity for both AdvoCare and the Texas Bowl organization to grow even stronger. We’re excited to bring AdvoCare to Houston and looking forward to December’s showdown between the Big 12 and SEC!”