“Being The Official Chicken of College Sports is a monumental partnership that allows us to support the colleges and towns that have continued to support us,” says Zach McLeroy, CEO and cofounder of Zaxby’s. “We opened our very first Zaxby’s in a college town and today, we have nearly 600 locations. I can’t think of a better association to have than one that keeps us true to our roots and links us with fine college sports teams across our footprint.”

 

The new college sports sponsorship, brokered by IMG College, the nation’s leading collegiate marketing agency, includes schools across every state where Zaxby’s is located, representing six major athletic conferences in the South, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest:

 

Southeastern Conference:

 

University of Alabama

University of Arkansas

Auburn University

University of Florida

University of Georgia

University of Kentucky

Louisiana State University

University of Mississippi

University of South Carolina

University of Tennessee

Vanderbilt University

 

 

Atlantic Coast Conference:

 

Duke University

Florida State University

Georgia Institute of Technology

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Virginia

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

 

 

Big 12 Conference:

 

Baylor University

 

 

Big Ten Conference:

 

Indiana University of Bloomington

Purdue University

 

 

Sun Belt Conference:

 

Arkansas State University

Western Kentucky University

 

 

Conference USA:

 

University of Houston

University of Southern Mississippi

Tulane University

 

 

Additionally, Zaxby’s has a separate agreement with Clemson University to provide brand presence at all football and basketball games.

 

As part of the new sponsorship, the restaurant developed a special collective logo featuring the 25 partnering colleges designed to identify Zaxby’s as “The Official Chicken of College Sports.” Zaxby’s will be integrated into football and basketball games at each of the participating schools with broadcast radio spots and special in-venue videoboard programming features such as the “Zaxby’s Sack Cam” and “Zaxby’s Dunk Cam,” as well as online ad placement on each school’s athletic website.

 

 “We are proud of Zaxby’s recognizing the power of college sports to drive its business with these premier schools,” says Jeff Huffman, vice president regional sales/Southeast, IMG College. “This sponsorship represents a significant commitment to college sports, and the participating schools are eager to partner with Zaxby’s in helping build its brand.”