Vanderbilt is slated to unveil a jersey patch deal with SRM Concrete that will feature the company’s logo on all 17 of its varsity sports uniforms, those involved with the agreement told Sports Business Journal.
The deal, which was brokered by Learfield, is an expansion of a previous sponsorship relationship that saw SRM serve as the naming-rights partner of the “SRM South End Zone Suites at FirstBank Field” since 2025. SRM Concrete was founded in 1999 in Smyrna, Tenn., and is headed by Vanderbilt alum and CEO Jeff Hollingshead. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Once we knew that this was going to be a category that would be available to us for an opportunity ... we wanted to be really deliberate and thoughtful with who we partnered with,” Vanderbilt AD Candice Storey Lee told SBJ. “We also wanted to make sure we’re optimizing the opportunity on the revenue side.”
The patch sale represents another notable bullet point in the increasing commercialization of Vanderbilt athletics during Lee’s tenure. Lee, who was honored as SBJ’s AD of the Year this summer, has been a key architect in the school’s aspirations through new commercial operations, vast facility projects and tens of millions of dollars in fundraising initiatives.
“Our goal at the beginning of this was to go out as one patch for all jerseys, all sports,” Vanderbilt Deputy AD Derek Grice told SBJ. “We went through this process and we found the right partner early on and we think it’s a beautiful symmetry to what we’re doing here as One Vanderbilt.”
Vanderbilt becomes the third SEC school to announce a jersey patch deal along with Arkansas (Tyson Foods) and LSU (Woodside Energy). It is also the 17th jersey patch deal brokered by Learfield and the eighth within the Power Four.
“It’s validation that corporate brands want to move into college,” said Learfield President, Sports Properties Kim Damron. “We’re seeing more and more of that. In the last 18 months, we’ve had 36 new brands come into college and this continues that momentum — and SRM is a perfect example of that.”
