A new asset is coming to Wisconsin athletics, as the school is slated to announce an expansion of its sponsorship deal with UW Health that will include the company’s logo being featured on Badgers uniforms in women’s basketball, hockey, volleyball and softball. The deal was brokered through Badger Sports Properties, Wisconsin’s local Learfield affiliate.
“This sponsorship overall is a long-term investment for us with UW Health,” Wisconsin Deputy AD Mitchell Pinta told Sports Business Journal. “... Women’s sports have such a powerful and storied legacy at Wisconsin. This really felt like the next evolution of that and one we’re really excited about.”
UW Health has long been a supporter of Wisconsin athletics and most recently inked a deal to be the presenting sponsor of its women’s sports teams, which included varying signage around ice hockey, volleyball and more.
That agreement also included language and terms centered on a jersey patch component contingent on their being made allowable under NCAA rules (The NCAA approved corporate patches for regular season play in January).
“We’ve had a strategic interest from our organization in this topic and then the connection with some of the things happening in the marketplace as well as tied to Badger sports [made this make sense],” UW Health CMO Chris Roth told SBJ. “We really landed on this idea of, ‘Wow, there’s a unique opportunity to influence the women’s athletic realm in a different way.’”
Jersey patches and field logos have become among the most sought after and prominent assets schools are in the market for in recent months as the cost of competing in high-major college athletics continues to climb.
That said, schools are largely integrating jersey patch assets into broader sponsorship deals with their respective partners, compared to selling it as an individual asset.
“What we’re seeing is these are all comprehensive packages that include not only the Jersey patch, but additional assets, IP, NIL, as well as content,” Learfield President of Sports Properties Kim Damron told SBJ. “No one is looking at just the jersey patch. Really, it’s a platform.”
