Beef 'O' Brady's goes all in on Rutgers Football

by: Jason Springer

Sat Dec 19, 2009 at 06:35:08 PM EST

Rutgers Football will play in the St. Petersburg bowl tonight. It turns out that the sponsor of the bowl game has spent the majority of their marketing budget to sponsor the game:

Beef 'O' Brady's, the casual-dining chain of more than 260 "family sports pubs," has spent about $5 million to be the title sponsor of the St. Petersburg Bowl, with naming rights for the college football game secured for next year.
The game, to take place Saturday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, will be televised nationally on ESPN and will pit the University of Central Florida Knights against the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights.

This year it's the St. Petersburg bowl, but next year the game will actually be called the Beef 'O' Brady's bowl. They didn't really plan on being all in on Rutgers though:

The chain doesn't have a large presence in Rutgers' home state of New Jersey, but there's some brand recognition among the many people from New Jersey and New York who vacation in Florida, Vojnovic said.
"One downside of this I guess is that you really have no guarantee of which teams you get and whether they fit in your [geographic] niche," he said. "Being a regional player, it's trickier for us. We're in 24 states, but mostly in the Southeast, so that limits it a little."

If you're snowed in, the game starts at 8pm. The payout for the bowl game is $1million and the game is being played at Tropicana field in Tampa Bay. This definitely isn't the game that Rutgers or it's fans were hoping to play in. But then again, it's not the team Beef 'O' Brady's marketing department was hoping for either, so the feeling is probably mutual.

Jason Springer :: Beef 'O' Brady's goes all in on Rutgers Football

Tags: Rutgers, Rutgers football, beef 'o' brady's, (All Tags)

Print Friendly View

Send As Email

Beef 'O' Brady's goes all in on Rutgers Football | 5 comments

well, now I've heard of them (0.00 / 0)

Maybe I'll give them a try if I'm ever in Waffle House territory.

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

by: Hopeful @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 02:47:50 AM UTC

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

God forbid that I should ever enter a Waffle House. (0.00 / 0)

I cannot think of a greater culinary wasteland.

by: FormerBureaucrat @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 05:34:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

I wish (0.00 / 0)

I wish New Jersey diners still made breakfast as well, as quickly, and for as little cost as Waffle House.

by: Dvd Avins @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 16:20:43 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Waffle House (0.00 / 0)

is where God eats.

by: Thurman Hart @ Mon Dec 21, 2009 at 02:56:02 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Who knew it was on tonight and who cares? (4.00 / 2)

Big time professional football at Rutgers is an educational abomination sucking money out of other programs for what? So NJ can be on par with the reputation of the University of Alabama? So Rutgers can play in the Beef O'Brady bowl, another chain that will be out of business in a year or two? I would wish the Rutgers team well but I really cannot because they represent the money pit that is the major distraction from the central mission of Rutgers, a solid educational entity within the Garden State. We can do better than sinking all this money into professional football.

by: FormerBureaucrat @ Sun Dec 20, 2009 at 05:32:45 AM UTC

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Beef 'O' Brady's goes all in on Rutgers Football | 5 comments