Northwestern Mutual will be the next sponsor of the Rose Bowl
While Northwestern is unlikely to make a trip to the Rose Bowl any time soon, maybe this will help.
USA Today is reporting that Northwestern Mutual, a financial services organization based in Milwaukee, will be the new sponsor of the Rose Bowl as a part of the transition to the College Football Playoff. The agreement is said to last through 2020.
Northwestern Mutual is now the second company to agree to a sponsorship with one of the six bowls that will be a part of the playoff. A six-year agreement between Chick-fil-A and the Peach Bowl was announced in April.
“This is groundbreaking stuff,” said Northwestern Mutual chairman and CEO John Schlifske. “It’s going to become a spectacle. I think it’s going to be a much bigger thing than just who wins the national championship. I think it’s going to turn into more than just a sporting event. It’s going to be a spectacle in America.”
Much like the Rose Bowl’s prior agreement with Vizio, Northwestern Mutual will be the game’s presenting sponsor, not its title sponsor. That means the game will be referred to as “the Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual.”
“Being part of the College Football Playoff, I mean, we need to be a part of it,” said Bill Flinn, Rose Bowl executive director. “When you can look back on 100 years of history, the chances are you can look forward to a pretty good future. It’s about the aura of that place. The hills behind the stadium, the time of day, the air. It’s New Year’s Day.”
The four remaining bowl games associated with the College Football Playoff -- the Orange, Cotton, Fiesta and Sugar – have yet to come to agreements with sponsors.
The Rose and Sugar Bowls will host semifinal games in January 2015, while the Orange and Cotton Bowls will host semifinal games in January 2016. The Peach and Fiesta Bowls will be hosts in 2017.
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