MEMPHIS, Tenn. — University of Memphis Intercollegiate Athletics and its multimedia rights partner, Learfield Sports’ Tiger Sports Properties, announced Thursday a five-year partnership renewal with First Tennessee Bank, a subsidiary of First Horizon National Corp.
As part of its enhanced fan engagement and heightened university support, the “Official Bank of the Memphis Tigers” will be offering Tiger-branded Visa® Debit cards as part of their Tiger Checking account.
Effective with the upcoming 2013-’14 athletic season, First Tennessee Bank’s new partnership term extends the long-time supporter of the Memphis Tigers through the 2017-’18 athletic season, leveraging its brand and services through involvement with all Tiger sports.
In addition to offering fans branded Visa® Debit cards, First Tennessee Bank exclusively sponsors a seat upgrade promotion at football and men’s basketball games enabling card holders the opportunity to move down to better seat options. The Tigers’ corporate partner also is the title sponsor of all post-game interviews with Football Head Coach, Justin Fuente and Men’s Basketball Head Coach, Josh Pastner on the Memphis Tiger Radio Network.
“First Tennessee is excited about our continued partnership with The University of Memphis Athletics,” said Paula Beale, VP, First Tennessee Brand and Sponsorship Manager. “Combined, First Tennessee and The University of Memphis have nearly 250 years of supporting our community in academic and economic growth. Those are roots that should be honored, cultivated, and celebrated.”
“First Tennessee Bank has been a tremendous supporter of Memphis Athletics for many years, and we’re grateful for their ongoing commitment to our student-athletes and our athletic programs,” said Tiger Sports Properties’ General Manager Brad Harrison. “It’s imperative to have strong backing from our immediate community, and we’re pleased we can count on First Tennessee Bank for their corporate affiliation and innovative ideas.”
In addition to Memphis, Learfield Sports manages multimedia rights and sponsorship for more than 50 collegiate institutions and associations and titles the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup with award co-founders NACDA and USA Today. The company’s multimedia rights encompass numerous content distribution platforms to deliver the passion of college athletics across radio, television and digital networks to fans globally. Today, Learfield Sports’ exclusive sports programming reaches more than 50 million television households nationally and delivers nearly 17,000 hours of radio programming on more than 1,100 radio stations. For additional information about the company’s 40-year history and complete collegiate portfolio, visit www.learfieldsports.com.
The 4,300 employees of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) provide financial services through more than 170 bank locations in and around Tennessee and 21 FTN Financial Group offices in the U.S. and abroad. First Tennessee Bank has the leading combined market deposit share in the counties where it does business and one of the highest customer retention rates of any bank in the country. FTN Financial is a capital markets industry leader in fixed income sales, trading and strategies for institutional clients in the U.S. and abroad. FHN has been recognized as one of the nation’s best employers by AARP and Working Mother magazines. More information is available at www.fhnc.com.