Buffalo Wild Wings lands its own college bowl game

The new logo for the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. is becoming the new title sponsor of the Valley of the Sun Bowl, marking the first time the restaurant chain has put its name on a college bowl game.

The Valley of the Sun Bowl Foundation of Scottsdale, Ariz., announced the deal, under which Golden Valley-based Buffalo Wild Wings will take over sponsorship for the Dec. 29 game that this year will match the third selection from the Big 12 conference against the fourth pick from the Big Ten, after BCS selections.

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team played in the same bowl in 2006, 2008 and 2009, losing all three.

The game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., was once called the Copper Bowl but for the past five years has been dubbed the Insight Bowl, after former sponsor Insight Enterprises of Tempe. Insight didn't renew its sponsorship this past year, deciding to shift more dollars to business-to-business marketing and putting the bowl game in play.

Insight was a technology company and so had little obvious reason to spend heavily on sports marketing. Buffalo Wild Wings (Nasdaq: BWLD), on the other hand, has some very substantial ties with sports, especially the televised kind, and game-watching fans are among the chain's biggest customers.

"Buffalo Wild Wings has become a brand for the fans and now we'll be bringing our unique Buffalo Wild Wings experience to college football fans across the country," said Kathy Benning, the company's brand and marketing executive vice president.

Arizona State University hopes to upgrade Sun Devil Stadium with a shade roof and other amenities in a bid to boost revenue and raise the cachet of the stadium's bowl game, the Phoenix Business Journal reported this spring.

Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom.

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Source: http://feeds.bizjournals.com/~r/bizj_national/~3/UotpuoKl5CQ/buffalo-wild-wings-lands-its-own.html

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