Rivalry continues as hoops teams face Wildcats

In two short years, the State Farm Territorial Cup Series has emerged as one of the premier sponsored rivalry platforms in the country. As it enters its third year the SFTSC is a prime example of how a sponsor can work closely with schools and their communities to add value that did not exist previously. In a sponsorship world where many look to see how big of a piece of a pie they can garner for themselves, State Farm has found a way to help grow the pie for all parties involved. With agency support from AdSport, the State Farm Great Western Zone has worked closely with Arizona State University (IMG) and the University of Arizona (IMG) to build a comprehensive, three-pronged, rivalry platform that focuses on the in-state rivalry.

Each year, the schools' athletic departments compete head-to-head in eighteen (18) common, equally weighted, sports to determine which community can claim the bragging rights for that year. The winning school is awarded the Territorial Cup Series Trophy, which was inspired by the oldest rivalry trophy in collegiate athletics. By placing equal emphasis on all sports, the Series helps to build community awareness for less publicized Olympic sports. The fact that a point from Women's Gymnastics counts as much as a point from Football helps to keep the rivalry fresh and active for the entire school year, especially in the spring when most of the points are decided and traditional high interest sports like Football and Men's Basketball have hung up their uniforms for the year. The Series focuses on the message that “Every Game Counts” and that the rivalry between the schools is a yearlong affair.

What is truly unique about the Series, however, is that it goes beyond the field of competition and into local communities through the State Farm Territorial Cup Series Food Fight and the State Farm Good Neighbor Team. "The aim of our partnership is to not only spotlight athletic programs offered by each university, but also to help alleviate hunger in the community and address the educational funding challenges each university is currently experiencing," said State Farm Vice President - Agency, Laura Kunewa. The Territorial Cup Series Food Fight is essentially a year-long food drive where the Phoenix and Tucson communities compete head-to-head to see who can collect more food for local food banks on behalf of their respective universities. To date, the Food Fight has raised over 32,000 meals for Arizona's Hungry. The purpose of the Territorial Cup Series Good Neighbor Team is to recognize the efforts of student athletes at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University who exemplify all that is right about collegiate athletics. Eighteen student athletes from each school (one from each team competing in the rivalry series) who have excelled in Athletics, Community Service, and Academics are honored each year through an award and a donation in their name to their school's general athletic scholarship fund.

Visit www.territorialcupseries.com for more details.