April 21, 2008
Toyota Joins Big 12 Conference Corporate Partner Program
Toyota is the newest member of the Big 12 Conference Corporate Partner Program, the Big 12 and ESPN Regional Television (ERT) announced today. Toyota will be the official automobile of the Big 12 Conference.
During the 2008 college football season, Toyota will offer the “Test Drive a Tundra” program at all of its dealerships in the Greater Southwest Region. Each fan who test-drives the Toyota Tundra will receive two free tickets to a Big 12 football game of his or her choice.
Toyota joins Big 12 corporate partners ConocoPhillips, Dr Pepper, Chick-Fil-A, Geico, Gatorade, XM Satellite Radio and ConAgra.
“It is a great pleasure for Toyota to have the opportunity to join the Big 12 Conference Corporate Partner Program,” said Senior Vice President of Marketing, Market Representation for Gulf States Toyota, J.C. Fassino. “The Big 12 Conference has been synonymous with success in competitive play and academic excellence, and the Toyota family of dealers looks forward to actively engaging with Big 12 Conference fans and giving them the opportunity to attend a game at the university of their choice.”
“We are pleased to have Toyota join our Big 12 Corporate Partner family,” said Tim Allen, Senior Associate Commissioner of the Big 12. “Toyota is a worldwide recognized brand and a great addition to our sponsorship program.”
“We are pleased that Gulf States Toyota has signed to be a partner with the Big 12 Conference,” said Pete Derzis, Senior Vice President & General Manager, ERT. “This is a partnership that combines a great brand in Toyota with the academic and championship excellence of the Big 12 membership.”
For more information, visit www.Big12sports.com or ESPNPlus.com, home of ESPN Regional Television.
About Gulf States Toyota
Gulf States Toyota is the independent distributor of Toyota vehicles in the five-state region, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The company serves 149 Toyota dealers in 151 outlets in the region, providing marketing and management support as well as vehicle distribution.
ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 900 sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several other sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Papajohns.com Bowl; the Bell Helicopter Armed Forced Bowl; the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge; and The Home Depot College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the O’Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City); the Old Spice Classic (Orlando, Fla.); the BIG EAST/SEC Invitational; the Anaheim Classic (Calif.); the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); and the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.
-30-
ESPN Contact: Jenny Zimmerman at (407) 566-2213; jennifer.j.zimmerman@espn.com
