EVENT NEWS

Five Year Title Sponsor Extension


Dec. 13, 2017 / For Immediate Release

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and Idaho Potato Commission agree on a new Title Sponsor Extension

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) agreed to a five-year extension for the naming rights to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, through 2021. The IPC has been the title sponsor of the nation’s northernmost Bowl since 2011.

The game, played annually since 1997, takes place at Albertsons Stadium on the campus of Boise State University. The 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, featuring Central Michigan and Wyoming, is set for Dec. 22, at 2 p.m. MST, and will be televised on ESPN.

“Idaho produces the best potatoes in the world and makes the Idaho Potato Commission a perfect title sponsor for our Bowl,” said Kevin McDonald, Executive Director of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. “We have enjoyed a strong partnership the past six games and look forward to many more.”

“The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl has proven to be an extremely effective sponsorship allowing the entire Idaho potato industry to get involved and support Idaho’s most important agricultural crop, which generates more than $4.5 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 30,000 people,” commented Frank Muir, President & CEO, IPC. “We are looking forward to being a part of the country’s premier cold weather college bowl game for another five years.”

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl ranks alongside some of the most recognizable bowls in the country as a game that pays tribute to its state’s top agricultural export. The Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl all took their namesakes from products critical to their respective state’s economic health. Idaho has been the nation’s largest producer of potatoes every year since 1957. The “Famous Potato” slogan was initiated by the IPC and added to the state’s license plates in 1948.

Through the extended partnership, the Bowl will be featured prominently in national and regional marketing campaigns conducted by the IPC. The popular Big Idaho Potato Truck will once again be front and center at this year’s game. Through its charitable program, “A Big Helping,” the Truck will be making a donation to RODS, a non-profit that finds home in the U.S. for children in other countries who have Down syndrome. The Truck has served as the main attraction at several high-profile events in 2017, including the Pro Football Hall of Fame Parade and the NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway.

About the Idaho Potato Commission

Established in 1937, the IPC is a state agency responsible for promoting and protecting the famous “Grown in Idaho®” seal, a federally registered certification mark that assures consumers are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho’s growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation and rich volcanic soil gives Idaho® potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance, which differentiates them from potatoes grown in other states.

Tickets

Tickets for the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl are available for purchase at FamousIdahoPotatoBowl.com. Prices start at $20 for reserved seating in the South End Zone. Tickets for reserved seating in the upper curves are on sale for $30, while main stadium seating is priced at $50 and Stadium Club seats are priced at $75. A limited number of suites, club seats and loge boxes are available by contacting the Boise State Athletic Ticket Office at (208) 426-4737. Tickets for those areas start at $100.

The 21st annual game is becoming synonymous with the holiday season, being played on Dec. 22 for the third consecutive year. Last year Idaho held off a tenacious Colorado State team, 61-50, in a record-setting affair. For just the third time in college football bowl history, both teams eclipsed the 600-yard mark, combining for 1,206 yards of high-flying offense — and that was after a scoreless first quarter.

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl proceeds provide tickets and/or contributions to Idaho Charities that include the United Way, Optimist Youth Football, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boise School District, Treasure Valley YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, Girls Scouts and Armed Forces personnel.

 

ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 31 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 14 college bowl games, 11 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 300-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (Florida); Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); DXL Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff (Montgomery, Ala.); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth);MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Baton Rouge, La.); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); The Home Depot College Football Awards Presented by Gildan (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)

Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Ramstein Air Base, Germany); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s  Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic presented by Corona (Hartford, Conn.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); PK80 presented by State Farm (Portland, Ore.); Puerto Rico Tip-OffState Farm Champions Classic (Chicago) and Wooden Legacy(Fullerton, Calif.)

For more information, visit the official websiteFacebookTwitter or YouTube pages.

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Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Media Contact: Danielle Walsh at 970-980-7353 or [email protected]

ESPN Media Contact: Anna Negron at 860-766-2233 or [email protected]; @Anna_ESPN