Big news for University of Canberra as they announce their major sponsorship of the ACT Brumbies. The following article was published in the January 31 edition of Sponsorship News:

The University of Canberra has signed on as principal partner of Super Rugby’s ACT Brumbies for the 2012 season in a deal it hopes will boost its profile as a "sporting university". The one-year agreement is one of the first major partnerships in Australia between a sporting team and a tertiary education facility. The arrangement is roughly based on North American models to develop a system similar to college sports in the United States.

 

''Longer term, I'm attracted by the North American model, where the university and the sports team are close together, where students are fans wanting to go to the games and graduates want to be closer to the team," said UC vice-chancellor Professor Stephan Parker.

The Brumbies will have access to 13,000 UC students and 60,000 alumni.

UC will receive branding on the jersey and the Brumbies will now be known as the University of Canberra Brumbies. Brumbies CEO Andrew Fagan told Sponsorship Newsthe arrangement was much more than a traditional sponsorship deal, as the university would be leveraging it to recruit students.

Fagan said that the Brumbies would provide practical experience at its facilities for students and help entice elite athletes to take scholarships at UC which he believes is unique to a naming rights partnership. Fagan said negotiations were continuing for the Brumbies to relocate its head office and training facilities to the University campus, though it was not a part of the deal.

The deal had been in discussion for 18 months, focusing on what could be done in the future, but after the team lost the $1m-a-year Huawei partnership, the deal was fast-tracked.

“We brought out the sponsorship component [of the deal] and dealt with that on its own and we’ll continue on with other discussions. I hope we’re able to announce a deepening and broadening of this deal soon”, Fagan said.

An online poll in the Canberra Times today indicated that 33% of those canvassed believed the university should not be spending its money on sponsoring sports teams.

"I'm not a great believer in the way those polls are run," Fagan said.

"People seem to misunderstand how these deals are put together. The university invests a lot in marketing and advertising locally, nationally and internationally and its deal with us forms part of that investment. The university isn't reallocating existing funds."

The following article was also published in the Canberra Times: