Students and fans will have the opportunity to win “too much good stuff” for the second year in a row.
Honda Center and the Big West Conference have once again partnered with convenience store leader ampm for the annual Big West Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament.
The sponsorship establishes the 1,100-plus location franchise as the Official Convenience Store of the 2012 Big West Tournament, which will take place at Honda Center, March 8-10.
“We are thrilled to have ampm return as a sponsor of The Big West Tournament,” said Greg Rieber, Honda Center director of corporate sponsorships. “The creative marketing team at ampm has lined up a number of fun promotions that pair perfectly with the excitement and anticipation surrounding the event.”
Scratch game cards good for ampm food and beverages, and other ampm branded prizes will be rewarded to spirited students at this year’s Big West Campus Tour stops. The tour visits all nine Big West campuses, building enthusiasm and counting down to the tournament. In addition to the Big West Tournament, ampm also has a presence at regular season Big West contests in-game as well as in broadcasts.
“We’re energized to be back again this year to support Big West basketball and to reward fans with the chance to win too much good stuff from our convenience stores,” said Bill Fry, ampm president.
“The ampm business provides the Big West Conference a terrific sponsor as we tour our campuses leading up to the tournament at Honda Center,” said Commissioner Dennis Farrell. “We are excited to grow the excitement of the tournament each year with the support of a well-established brand such as ampm.”
The Big West Tournament is the oldest NCAA Division I post-season basketball tournament in the West, dating back to 1976 when the conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The Big West is comprised of nine schools located throughout the state of California. Member schools include: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Pacific and UC Davis.
2012 marks the second year Honda Center will be host to the Big West Tournament. The venue first hosted the event in 2011 to great success, seeing an overall attendance increase of 47% from the previous year. The winner of both the men’s and women’s tournaments receive bids to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships.