Hercules Tires Named Title Sponsor of Southland Conference Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournament
FRISCO, TEXAS – The Southland Conference announced Thursday that Hercules Tires, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Tire Distributors one of the largest independent suppliers of tires in North America, will become the title sponsor of the Southland Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament and designation as the Official Tire of the Conference.
The multi-year agreement marks one of the largest sponsorship agreements in Southland Conference history. In addition, Hercules Tires will have an integrated marketing presence throughout the year, allowing the brand to connect with Southland Conference alumni, fans, students, and employees at all league championship events.
“We’re excited to enter into an official partnership with the Southland Conference and the national platform this sponsorship gives us to grow our brand visibility by introducing it to fans at a grassroots level,” Senior Vice President of Hercules Tires, Joshua Simpson said. “The ability to have an on-site presence at events throughout the year will create an opportunity to develop an authentic relationship and be top of mind when it’s time to make a tire purchase.”
“The Southland Conference is proud to join with Hercules Tires in this terrific partnership,” Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett added. “We greatly appreciate the interest of Hercules Tires to spotlight the great efforts of Southland student-athletes, and also look forward to this sponsorship adding more focus on our premier event of the year, the men’s and women’s basketball tournament.”
The 2020 Hercules Tires Southland Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournament will take place at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas, March 11-15. Eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams will be vying for an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. The multi-year agreement strengthens the league’s sponsorships as one of the largest agreements in Southland Conference history. It is a key component of an exclusive partnership across eight NCAA Conferences and 32 campuses.
“Although Hercules Tires has been around since 1952 we are continuously working to grow brand awareness with our target audience, and felt this partnership was great way to support our initiatives,” said Hercules Director of Marketing Nakia Medlin. “Not only do we get to engage with passionate college basketball fans during championship season this unique partnership allows us to integrate our brand and engage with these colleges and universities throughout the year to build a connection with not only the young fan base, but also alumni, faculty and the local community as well.”
The broad-based, multifaceted agreement was negotiated by the Southland’s multi-media rights partner Van Wagner.
About Hercules Tires
Hercules Tires is widely recognized as the industry's premier value brand with a comprehensive selection of passenger, UHP, light truck, medium truck and specialty tires. Since 1952, independent tire dealers and distributors have trusted Hercules to deliver outstanding quality, exceptional support, and unsurpassed value.
Hercules is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Tire Distributors, Inc. American Tire Distributors is one of the largest independent suppliers of tires in the North American replacement tire market. The company offers an unsurpassed breadth and depth of inventory, frequent delivery and value-added services to approximately 80,000 customers across the U.S. and Canada. Follow Hercules Tires on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@HerculesTires).
About the Southland Conference
Founded in 1963, the Southland Conference sponsors 19 NCAA Division I sports, including FCS football, and serves more than 4,200 student-athletes at its 13 member institutions in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. The membership of the Southland encompasses nearly 140,000 current students and an alumni base of over 800,000. The collective group of athletic programs serves a local population base of nearly 14 million people, and the league boasts six television markets in the Top 100 of the U.S., including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, New Orleans and Little Rock. The Southland Conference is located in Frisco, Texas, one of America’s fastest-growing cities and recently named by Money Magazine as the No. 1 Place to Live in the U.S. Sports organizations affiliated with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer are also headquartered in Frisco. Each January, the Southland annually serves as the host conference for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
About Van Wagner
Van Wagner, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Van Wagner Group LLC, creates, advises, and sells on behalf of world-class teams, leagues, brands, properties, and colleges. An innovator in the sports and media business, Van Wagner is a global leader in high-impact broadcast visible signage throughout the MLB, NBA, NCAA, and the highest levels of international soccer, sponsorships sales, premium ticketing, college multi-media rights, and in-venue content production at the world’s biggest sporting events.
www.vanwagner.com