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Barstool Sports confirms that ESPN denied its title sponsorship of bowl game
By Keith Farner
Published:
A bowl game in Mobile, Alabama nearly had a new kind of title sponsor, but according to a report and confirmation from the company itself, ESPN nixed the deal which was reportedly near completion.
Sports Business Journal originally reported that Barstool Sports was in the running to sponsor the game, but the sponsorship ended up going to LendingTree. Founder Dave Portnoy confirmed the news in a tweet: “This is true. @espn killed it because they are scared of us. Honestly I would have killed it if I was them to. No need to feed the company that is eventually going to eat you. Just a matter of time till we get a bowl game though.”
The game currently matches teams from the Sun Belt Conference and the Mid-American Conference. It previously was sponsored by GMAC, GoDaddy and Dollar General. Dollar General had a recent three-year run as sponsor.
SBJ reported that bowl officials pressure from the NCAA and ESPN to be sponsored by what it described as a “brash sports and entertainment outlet.”
This is true. @espn killed it because they are scared of us. Honestly I would have killed it if I was them to. No need to feed the company that is eventually going to eat you. Just a matter of time till we get a bowl game though. https://t.co/ljzq2uWgNa
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 26, 2019
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
