The University of Iowa Athletics Department and multimedia rightsholder LEARFIELD’s Hawkeye Sports Properties announced that the UFC will serve as a sponsor of the men’s and women’s wrestling programs.
It is the first time that the UFC has sponsored a college sports program. The sponsorship encompasses signage inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as well as exposure during the wrestling radio broadcasts and visibility on Hawkeyes’ social platforms.
Payout Perspective:
The sponsor deal makes sense from the perspective that the business relationship will help the promotion with the recruitment of budding wrestling stars seeking to transition into MMA. Notably, the WWE has employed this strategy when looking to recruit professional wrestlers. Could the UFC’s sponsorship deal lead into NIL deals with college students? Certainly, this could be a viable next step.
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