For 21 years, FedEx has been the title sponsor of the Orange Bowl. As of today, that linkage with college football is no more.
According to the SportsBusinessJournal.com, FedEx has decided to give up naming rights for the BcS bowl game, and ESPN -- which will take over (thank God) for FOX this year and air BcS games -- is already actively looking for a new title sponsor for the game that usually pits the champions from the ACC and Big East.
“We are in active discussions around the Orange Bowl, which is a premier property and presents a tremendous marketing opportunity. FedEx remains an important client and we continue to be engaged with them in other areas,” ESPN’s president of customer marketing and sales Ed Erhardt said in a statement emailed to SBJ.
ESPN is looking to get around $20 million a year for the next four years from their title sponsors. That could be a tough sell for the network, however, as the Orange Bowl has annually been the least-viewed of the BcS bowls.
SBJ also reports that, as far as the other BcS bowls are concerned, they are in talks with Tostitos for the Fiesta Bowl, Allstate for the Sugar Bowl and Citi for the Rose Bowl.