Rocket Mortgage, announced its extended visibility and branding throughout college campuses with new and expanded multi-year partnerships. The partnership includes 25 athletic programs in the United States, including four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
According to the company, it sees a valuable opportunity to reach beyond just the campuses. The college football season is underway with televised games and fans being allowed to enter the stands once again. In 2019 alone (the last time all universities had people in stands), 145 million fans watched college football games on TV and streaming services, in addition to the more than 47.5 million individuals who attended games in stadiums across the country, according to the National Football Federation.
“College sports have truly amazing fans with deep passion and loyalty for their schools and the companies that support them,” said Casey Hurbis, chief marketing officer of Rock Central - the marketing provider for Rocket Mortgage. “We have a history of bringing these partnerships to life in fun and approachable ways, including giving colleges mascots a leading role in our commercials. This expansion of our presence with a nationwide group of universities provides us the perfect avenue to build on that legacy and develop the next best engaging sports campaign.”
The full list of university athletic departments includes:
- University of Alabama
- University of Arizona
- Clemson University
- University of Colorado
- Duke University
- University of Florida
- Florida State University
- University of Georgia
- Grambling State University
- Howard University
- Jackson State University
- University of Kansas
- University of Michigan
- Michigan State University
- University of North Carolina
- Ohio State University
- University of Oregon
- Penn State University
- Southern University
- University of Texas
- Texas Christian University
- University of Southern California
- Virginia Tech
- University of Washington
- University of Wisconsin
Rocket Mortgage-branded signage will begin appearing at these colleges’ home stadiums, arenas, and campuses at the start of the 2021-2022 fall season.
As part of this partnership, Rocket Mortgage expanded its presence on HBCU campuses, adding Howard University and Jackson State University to its relationship portfolio. Previous partners, Southern University and Grambling State University, extended their partnerships with the mortgage lender after working together for two years. Beyond these sponsorships, Rocket Mortgage states that it also has ongoing initiatives and programs that aim to boost its presence and support in communities of color throughout the country, with a goal of creating systemic change in both the racial homeownership gap and talent pipelines.
Additionally, Rocket Mortgage’s new college football-themed commercials, which started airing on Monday, Aug. 30, features Kirk Herbstreit – the Emmy award-winning college football analyst and former quarterback and captain of the Ohio State University, which recently initiated a relationship with the company.
