27th Annual American Collegiate Intramural Sports (ACIS) Flag Football National Championships Kick Off at University of West Floridatitle
Forget College Bowl Games - Major Advertisers are Flocking to Tournament that
Draws Over 75 Teams and 1,000 Players from 30 States to Pensacola this Week
PENSACOLA, Fla., Dec. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- As marketers elbow for a sliver
of visibility during the sponsor-laden end-of-year college football finals,
some major-league advertisers have discovered an even better way to connect
with the valuable, hard-to-reach $200 billion college market.
Procter & Gamble s Old Spice Red Zone, Pontiac, Microsoft Xbox, Nike,
Gold Bond Powder and Philips Norelco are sponsoring the American College
Intramural Sports (ACIS) 27th Annual Flag Football National Championships at
the University of West Florida in Pensacola this week. The event, which takes
place from December 29 through the 31st, attracts over 1,000 players
representing 75 collegiate and open teams from 30 states. Divisions for the
tournament include mens, womens, co-rec collegiate and a mens open. Dozens
of officials and staff members from universities around the country are
providing their services at the ACIS Nationals, making this the premier
intramural event in the nation. College Sports TV (CSTV) is covering the event
and will air the championships nationally in January.
The championships are the culmination of the 2005 ACIS Flag Football
program, which kicked off this September on university campuses nationwide.
Over 200,000 players competed on mens, womens and co-recreational teams
during the fall season at 250 participating schools, followed by four regional
tournaments involving 200 teams and 2,000 players. The top 12 teams won
expense-paid trips to the ACIS Flag Football National Championships this week,
joining more than 60 collegiate and open teams for the three-day event.
Held for the past 26 years at the University of New Orleans as part of the
Sugar Bowl festivities, the 2005 ACIS flag football championships were
relocated to Pensacola in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This years
event is a joint effort between UNO, UWF and ACIS, led by UNOs Margaret
Royerre as Honorary Tournament Director and UWFs Dave Scott as Tournament
Director. Tournament proceeds are being donated to the UNO Recovery Fund, and
ACIS is matching donations from students, schools, teams and corporations up
to $10,000.
Why are advertisers attracted to flag football and other ACIS college
intramural sports? Ian Leopold, President and CEO of ACIS, says, "The NCAA is
big-time spectator sports. ACIS is big-time participatory sports, and that
makes it the best way to own the college market. Seventy-five percent of
college students participate in intramural and recreational sports, making it
the number-one activity on campus. Over the course of a year, ACIS enables
marketers to put their brands and messages in front of over 3 million college
students -- a consumer base greater than the population of Chicago."
During the Fall 2005 flag football season, ACIS sponsors reached over 1
million students per day who participated in the program. ACIS offers sponsors
daily presence and exposure by putting their brands and messages on signage
and information boards in high-traffic recreational centers, as well as on
sports equipment, premium items and players t-shirts. Students also
experience sponsors brands and products first-hand through customized
promotions. For example, Microsoft uses ACIS to build awareness and increase
purchase intent for Xbox systems and games through on-campus game kiosks,
tournaments, raffles and contests. Norelco spotlights the Norelco Cool Skin
Player of the Week and conducts product demonstrations, and Old Spice Red Zone
distributes hundreds of thousands of samples at campus sport facilities
through the ACIS program.
ACIS generates a strong return on investment for marketers. Research
indicates that ACIS sponsors consistently achieve an average gain in purchase
intent of 65 percent or more.
"ACIS is a win-win for everyone involved," says Leopold. "College students
gain the experience of being big-time athletes without being on a varsity
team. Universities receive needed sponsor support for recreational programs.
And marketers gain a highly efficient and effective platform to reach the
college market and drive incremental sales."
About American College Intramural Sports
American College Intramural Sports (ACIS) is comprised of 250 universities
offering mens, womens and co-recreational programs include flag football,
basketball and fitness. By sponsoring ACIS programs, marketers can efficiently
reach over 3 million 18-to-24 year old college students nationwide -- half of
the college student population in the U.S. For more information, go to
http://www.acis-college.com
