The Big South Conference has announced today that Hercules Tires, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Tire Distributors, one of the largest independent suppliers of tires in North America, will be the title sponsor of the conference’s basketball championships starting this March.
The 2020 Hercules Tires Big South Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held on campus March 3-8 (men’s) and March 10-15 (women’s) with the highest remaining seed hosting the championship games. The 2021 Hercules Tires Big South Basketball Championships will be a combined tournament at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte.
The multi-year agreement marks one of the largest sponsorships in Big South history. Hercules Tires will have an integrated marketing presence throughout the year, allowing the brand to connect with Big South alumni, fans, students and employees at all conference championship events. Hercules Tires will also be the title sponsor of the bi-annual Big South Campus Tours.
“We’re excited to enter into an official partnership with the Big South and the national platform this sponsorship gives us to grow our brand visibility by introducing it at a grassroots level to these fans,” said Hercules Tires Senior VP Joshua Simpson.
“By having the ability to have an on-site presence at events throughout the year we’ll have the opportunity to create an authentic relationship and hopefully be top of mind when it’s time to make a tire purchase,” Simpson said.
“The Big South Conference is thrilled to welcome Hercules Tires as a comprehensive partner, including title sponsor of our men’s and women’s basketball championships,” said Big South Commissioner Kyle Kallander. “With our shared values of excellence and integrity, Hercules Tires is a perfect partner for the Big South. This tremendous support will be a huge boost to enhancing the experience of our student-athletes.”
“Although Hercules Tires has been around since 1952, we are continuously working to grow brand awareness with our target audience and felt this partnership was a great way to support our initiatives,” said Hercules Director of Marketing Nakia Medlin. “Not only do we get to engage with passionate college basketball fans during championship season, but this unique partnership allows us to integrate our brand and engage with Big South colleges and universities throughout the year. This will help us build a connection not only with the young fan base, but with alumni, faculty and the local community as well.”
The 2020 Hercules Tires Big South Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships both feature a home site/earned seed format. First-round games will be held on the campus sites of the higher seeds; the men’s No.-1 seed will host the quarterfinals and the semifinals. The women’s No.-1 and No.-2 seeds will each host quarterfinal and semifinal sessions as part of a “double-pod” bracket. The highest remaining seeds in both tournaments will host the championship game. The men’s finals will be played on Sunday, March 8, at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN. The women’s final will be played on Sunday, March 15, at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
The broad-based, multifaceted agreement was negotiated by the Big South’s multi-media rights partner, Van Wagner.
Hercules Tires is widely recognized as the industry’s premier value brand with a comprehensive selection of passenger, UHP, light truck, medium truck and specialty tires. Since 1952, independent tire dealers and distributors have trusted Hercules to deliver outstanding quality, exceptional support and unsurpassed value.
Hercules is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Tire Distributors, Inc. American Tire Distributors is one of the largest independent suppliers of tires in the North American replacement tire market. The company offers an unsurpassed breadth and depth of inventory, frequent delivery and value-added services to approximately 80,000 customers across the U.S. and Canada.
–Big South Conference
