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Nationwide Signs $9 Million Deal With Ohio State University

Posted on: Tuesday, 9 August 2005, 00:00 CDT

Aug. 9--Nationwide has signed a 10-year, $9 million sponsorship agreement with Ohio State University's Athletics Department.

The wide-ranging agreement includes placing the financial-services company's name and logo on scoreboards at Ohio Stadium and the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

Nationwide also will sponsor the Block O student spirit group, the Scarlet and Gray football game, Skull Sessions rallies before football games and the Buckeye Championship Sport Tour, a traveling exhibit that touts all 36 OSU sports.

The company will underwrite the printing of schedule cards and posters for most Buckeye sports.

OSU Athletics Director Gene Smith yesterday called the agreement a good deal for both the university and Nationwide, in that they "share the same values, the same missions" of assisting young people and the community.

"This sponsorship is a commitment to further the roles of both organizations as leading community partners," said Amy Shore, regional vice president of Ohio and West Virginia for Nationwide's insurance business.

The company has made similar moves in the past, including its 90 percent ownership of Nationwide Arena, where the Columbus Blue Jackets play. The other 10 percent is owned by The Dispatch Printing Company, publisher of The Dispatch .

Nationwide also is in the midst of a five-year deal, estimated at $5 million to $6 million per year, to underwrite the PGA Tour's minor-league circuit, now called the Nationwide Tour.

Although the Nationwide-OSU sports sponsorship was announced formally yesterday, officials said the company's involvement actually began last year when Nationwide's name went up on signs at the Schottenstein Center.

The company also gave out seat cushions and rally towels at football games last year and it provided financial assistance to buy replacement uniforms for the marching band.

Nationwide, which will make annual payments of about $900,000 to OSU, replaces one of its industry competitors, State Farm, as a scoreboard sponsor.

"We just decided to diversfy our marketing in Ohio," said Brian Maze, a spokesman for State Farm, which was an OSU sponsor for 13 years. "The only way to free up the money was to end" the OSU sponsorship.

David Brown, assistant athletics director for marketing, said Nationwide joins Honda of America, Huntington Bank, Kroger, Wendy's and Wolfe Enterprises Inc. as a sponsor at several OSU venues.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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HMC, 7267, HBAN, KR, WEN,

Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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