University of Kansas Athletics has partnered with StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, and Paciolan, a leading provider of ticketing, marketing, and fundraising solutions to live entertainment organizations, to create a safe, guaranteed secondary marketplace for fans to buy and sell tickets to Kansas Jayhawks events. 

The new online ticket marketplace partnership was negotiated by IMG College, the multimedia rights partner for Kansas Athletics, along with StubHub and Paciolan. This new process replaces the Kansas Athletics Ticket Marketplace, which had been in place for the past few years. StubHub and Paciolan collaborate on many collegiate partnerships; since the two companies began working together in August 2010, the number of its college partners instituting barcode cancel and reissue integration has tripled.

Danielle Maged, head of partnerships and business development, StubHub, said: “Working alongside the University of Kansas is an exciting milestone in StubHub’s continued growth in college athletics, which now includes 26 premier college properties. As we’ve proven via existing agreements with many colleges, this technology integration adds another layer of protection to ensure all Jayhawk fans can purchase tickets on the secondary market with assurance.”

Paciolan’s leading software integration with the university enhances the overall fan experience. Whenever a fan purchases tickets online, they re-issue a completely new barcode, cancelling the old barcode and marking a seamless exchange of tickets. Combined with StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee, this new product integration presents Jayhawks fans with complete protection from fraud and a stress-free purchasing process when buying tickets online.

Dave Butler, CEO of Paciolan, said: “We think all Jayhawks fans will appreciate the added protection of a guaranteed valid ticket that will come with this integrated solution. This process provides season ticket holders with the ability to quickly and easily resell unused tickets, and allows fans to purchase great seats to Kansas basketball games. It is a tremendous customer service to Jayhawks fans.

Terry Mohajir, senior associate athletics director, Kansas, added: “This integrated solution will provide our fans with a safe, guaranteed, and transparent ticketing platform. We are confident this will provide fans with an improved secondary ticketing experience for Kansas Athletics events.”

One of the oldest Rugby Sevens competitions, capsule Melrose Sevens, pill have secured a new title sponsor in Aberdeen Asset Management.

The deal is for one year at present but includes an option for a second year and, with the sponsorship quoted as involving “a significant five-figure sum” it represents an increase on recent agreements.

The tournament, which will take place next year on 14 April, will be called the Aberdeen Asset Management Melrose Sevens and further establishes Aberdeen’s commitment to supporting rugby and Scottish sport in Scotland and around the world.

John Reed, the Melrose RFC president, acknowledged that after years of promoting some of Scotland’s top brands through their tournament, attracting sponsors to sevens in order to retain its unique appeal had become more difficult in recent times. He was, therefore, delighted when AAM, the current team sponsors of Edinburgh Rugby, agreed to become the latest big name to take over the title rights of the world’s oldest tournament.

He said: “Melrose Rugby Club are delighted that Aberdeen Asset Management, a global investment management group, have chosen to sponsor the 2012 Melrose Sevens.

“As a club, we are delighted that such a prestigious company, with a track record of supporting Scottish rugby through Edinburgh and London Scottish, have chosen to give backing to our world-famous tournament to be held at The Greenyards, 129 years after the abbreviated game was invented here in Melrose.

“We believe they will be a valued part of not only the tournament itself but the fantastic atmosphere which has helped establish the day as an integral part of the Scottish sporting calendar.

“Melrose Sevens has become a huge undertaking to run and sponsors such as Aberdeen Asset Management are a vital and integral part in allowing us to host the biggest rugby event in Scotland outside Murrayfield.

“I sincerely hope that Aberdeen Asset Management enjoy their experience in partnership with Melrose RFC and as club president I would like to thank them most sincerely for their support.”

Next year will be the 129th playing of the Melrose Sevens and will see the hosts and holders seeking to retain the title in an extended tournament with guest teams from across the world. The identities of those invited sides are still being kept a secret with final arrangements still being tied up, but the club has promised to push the boundaries further in 2012 with representation from another new country to be represented.

Previous years have included Randwick and Manly from Australia, Bay of Plenty from New Zealand, University of Free State and Stellenbosch from South Africa alongside teams from the USA, Ireland, Portugal and Fiji as the tournament works with the SRU and IRB to play a part in promoting sevens to a more global audience.

The tournament is broadcast live throughout the Saturday afternoon by BBC Scotland and has a global stage.

Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, said: “Aberdeen Asset Management is proud to be associated with such a historic and much loved tournament. The Melrose Sevens attracts teams from not only Scotland but from all parts of the world with players keen to perform in the town where the Sevens game was born. It is a special day for players and supporters alike and it is great to be involved.”

The Safeway Classic, an LPGA Tour golf tournament has secured the grocery chain as title sponsor of next year’s event.

The one-year extension will get Tournament Golf Foundation (TGF), who runs the event, through the 2012 tournament. TGF president Tom Maletis said TGF will meet with Safeway officials next year, probably before the event, to discuss the tournament’s future beyond  2012.

“We just wanted to get 2012 set up,” Maletis said. “Our goal is to sit down a little earlier and hammer out a longer-term agreement. That’s what we both want to do.”

The 2012 Safeway Classic will be played Aug. 17-19. TGF has not finalized a deal with Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club to hold the tournament on its Ghost Creek course — where it has been played the last three years — but is expected to do so.

Pumpkin Ridge officials have said they like having the tournament, which helps keep the 36-hole facility in the public eye. The tournament’s 2009 move to the North Plains course has produced the three biggest attendance counts in tournament history, topped by the record crowd of 88,100 it drew this year.

“They’ve been happy, and Tournament Golf Foundation has been very happy, and it’s just the formality of setting up the agreements,” Maletis said. “It’s been a win-win for both parties.”

The tournament’s purse will remain at $1.5 million for the third consecutive year after it was dropped from the $1.7 million it was at from 2007 to 2009.

Safeway has sponsored the tournament event since 1996, initially using a three-year rolling contract in which the grocer, at the conclusion of each year’s staging, would agree to add an additional year. That arrangement lasted until 2008, when Safeway opted to make 2011 an option year. Ai Miyazato won the 2010 tournament.

Michael Minasi, president of Safeway Marketing, said: “Safeway is pleased to be a part of the LPGA tour once again in 2012. The Safeway Classic provides our company with unique marketing opportunities with our customers and suppliers, while raising significant money for local children’s charities in Oregon through the Safeway Foundation.”

Australian Football League (AFL) club, capsule Western Bulldogs, has renewed its sponsorship with premium partner WorkSafe for three further years.

Also the coaches sponsor, WorkSafe have shown a long term commitment to the Bulldogs having been a partner since 2003.

The extension will lengthen the partnership until at least 2014. The ongoing support from WorkSafe is an important contributor to the continued off-field growth of the Western Bulldogs ahead of the 2012 season.

Both the Bulldogs and WorkSafe are dedicated to increasing awareness about safety in the workplace and implementing safe and healthy workplace practices.

WorkSafe along with the Bulldogs encourage WorkHealth checks for all businesses.

Smoothie maker Innocent is to join its majority stakeholder drinks giant, ambulance Coca-Cola by becoming an official sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The sponsorship is likely to include health and sustainability focused messaging and will see the smoothie maker include the Olympic rings on its packaging.

Innocent, clinic which is 60% owned by Coca-Cola, salve will launch a “significant” Olympic activation campaign including on-pack promotions, events and in-store and digital activity.

The sponsorship takes advantage of Coca-Cola’s long-standing global partnership with the International Olympic Committee, but marketing activity will be separate.

In a statement, the brand says: “It’s a great fit for us as we’re a London company with strong health and sustainability credentials. The London 2012 Olympics will be the most sustainable ever and are all about getting people active and healthy – which is what we are all about.”

Tiger Woods first win for two years at the Chevron World Challenge has been marred by the title sponsors decision to drop its sponsorship of the event.

Chevron has decided not to renew its title sponsorship of the tournament that Woods hosts at Sherwood Country Club to benefit his foundation. The company had been the title sponsor for four years.

Tournament director Greg McLaughlin says he feels confident that he will be able to find another title sponsor. The tournament has had three title sponsors since it began staging the event in 1999.

Meanwhile, ed McLaughlin says Sherwood Country Club has extended its contract to host the tournament through 2015.

Woods has won the tournament five times, malady although his victory Sunday was the first time he won when it was called the Chevron World Challenge.

McCoy’s has been announced as the official snack of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), signalling the Crisp’s brands first foray into a sponsorship deal.

As part of the deal, McCoy’s will also be a partner sponsor for all other events under the PDC banner including the Grand Slam of Darts and the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

George Johnston, marketing director of bagged snacks, at UBUK, said: “Darts has reinvented itself as a sport in recent years with the support of broadcasters such as Sky Sports. Our partnership with the PDC is the perfect platform for us to engage with our core audience of young men and we’re really excited about the prospect of working with Barry Hearn and his team as well as our trade partners to ensure we can deliver great entertainment for lovers of McCoy’s and Darts.

Barry Hearn, chairman of the PDC, added: “It’s so rare to find brand partners that fit so well with the property they’re sponsoring, but with McCoy’s there is an instant link that darts fans will love and appreciate. I can’t think of a more appropriate sponsor for one of the most important events in the darts calendar and I’m looking forward to working with them to deliver world-class sporting entertainment over the coming years.”

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has announced that it has acquired a new Official Supplier in the shape of logistics company Schenker Limited.

It is a partnership that will see Schenker supporting ISAF, and its major events, with logistics and shipping services over the next three years.

Schenker Limited recently helped ISAF with logistics services for the 2011 ISAF Annual Conference in Puerto Rico. They are also the supporting sponsors to the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships which sees over 1,100 sailors from 79 nations fight for World Championship glory and Olympic Qualification spots.

Along with supporting key ISAF events such as the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship, which heads to Dublin, Ireland next year, and the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, Schenker Limited will be on hand to provide expert advice on all aspects of shipping and logistics.

ISAF Secretary General, Jerome Pels, said, “Sailing is a global sport and transport of equipment plays a major part in what we do so to be working with one of the World’s leading shipping and logistics companies is a significant benefit for us. I am also pleased that our partnership with Schenker will give our members the opportunity to take advantage of Schenker’s experience and expertise.”

Luke Bardall, Key Account Manager Schenker Limited, added, “We are delighted to be an official ISAF partner and to be given the opportunity to be a part of the many exciting events that ISAF organise around the globe. We are very much looking forward to working with ISAF and their fellow members and are confident that our global reach will ensure all those participating in the events will receive the very best in event logistics.”

Horseracing’s Perth Racing and beverage brand, Schweppes Australia have announced a five year extension of their current sponsorship arrangement, which will take the partnership into its tenth year when the deal expires in 2017.

The deal will see Schweppes retain its position as the Official non-alcoholic beverage supplier to Perth Racing and its two premier metropolitan venues Ascot and Belmont Park Racecourses.

Perth Racing Chief Executive Officer Mr Michael Heath believes it was a natural progression to extend the partnership for a further five years.

“Schweppes have been a fantastic supporter and supplier to Perth Racing over the past four years and it is a partnership that delivers true benefits to both organisations. Whilst we still have nine months to run on the existing deal, we had no hesitations in agreeing to an extension with Mike Evans and his team and look forward to building on this relationship in years to come” he said.

“We thank Schweppes not only for their continued support and belief in our direction here in Perth, but as a supporter of racing throughout Australia”.

Schweppes Australia has been a partner of Australian horse racing for over thirty years, and the partnership continues to connect the fun and excitement of racing with the style and sophistication of Schweppes.

Schweppes Australia State Manager Mike Evans said “Our partnership with Perth racing has been a great contributor to the recent strong growth of our business in Western Australia, and we are thrilled to continue this partnership across what is set to be an exciting period of further growth for both businesses.  Through the partnership, we look forward to sharing our passion for racing with all our staff and customers, and to bringing quality beverages to life for all race goers at Ascot and Belmont Park”.

In addition to their exclusive supply arrangements, Schweppes will receive naming rights to the WATC Derby, Summer Scorcher, Two Year Old Series and significant branding on course at Ascot and Belmont Racecourses.

NASCAR has announced that they had signed an extension to their existing sponsorship deal with telecoms giant Sprint, which will see the company have naming rights to the top-level Cup series through to the end of the 2016 season.

The series became the Sprint Cup when the Sprint Corporation took over Nextel Communications in 2005. Nextel had been the title sponsors since 2004 when they replaced longtime series sponsor Winston, and Sprint took over the original ten-year sponsorship deal with their acquisition and the Nextel Cup duly became the Sprint Cup.

The original deal would have expired at the end of the 2013 season, but it had seemed clear for much of this season that Sprint were looking at extending and deepening their backing of America’s most popular motor sport series, leading to last week’s announcement that a three-year extension would see Sprint remaing as the the sport’s main backers until the end of 2016.

Sprint chief executive officer Dan Hesse, said: “I could not be more pleased than to announce and celebrate tonight that Sprint and NASCAR have agreed to an extension of our relationship.”

Sprint’s vice president for corporate marketing Steve Gaffney, commented: “It probably wasn’t an option for us not to [extend]. It’s too important for us as a brand. It’s an incredible relationship. It’s a great sport … The enthusiasm of the fans, the product of the track: we couldn’t be more proud to be associated with NASCAR, and we look forward to this relationship growing more and more over the coming years.”

NASCAR’s chief marketing officer Steve Phelps, added: “We’re pleased to have Sprint back and to have an extension. To have a brand like Sprint, who is our entitlement partner and our largest sponsor in the sport, to come back and essentially renew early for us is huge. I think it provides a lot of wind at our back. 

“We had a great year at the track, an incredible Chase with the best finish we’ve had ever in our Sprint Cup history. So, yeah, I think it will provide some significant wind at our back and help those teams that are still looking for sponsorship.”

Neither Sprint nor NASCAR would give details about the financial terms of the agreement, and whether or not Sprint are maintaining their former level of sponsorship funding – estimated at around $70m per year – or whether the current economic climate has forced everyone to tighten their belts as the price for the financial security and public endorsement of an early renewal.

“I can say that I’m 100 percent [sure] that both Sprint and NASCAR are really pleased about the way the negotiations ended up and the fact that we’re partners through 2016,” insisted Gaffney