Six Brands Making A Bet on Bowl Season

With bowl season kicking off this week, you're probably not alone if you find yourself scratching your head at some of the crazy long bowl game names. How about the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl? Or the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl?

With ESPN's owning or airing most bowl games and the schedule up to an impressive 40 game line-up, bowl sponsorships are increasingly accessible to emerging brands looking to make a name for themselves. For $300K, it may be worth a shot? While early bowl games may not get the attention and spotlight of the College Football Playoff, ESPN's growing involvement (owning and operating 15 games) creates a one stop shop of sorts for bowl sponsorships leading up to the big game.

Here are a few of the sponsors that you'll see boosting their presence with new bowl sponsorships this month:

Servpro - Along with title sponsoring the Servpro First Responder Bowl in Dallas for the first time, the cleanup and restoration franchise will have a presence at a host of other ESPN-owned bowl properties including the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Hawaii Bowl, Frisco Bowl and Texas Bowl.

Chipotle - While Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A may be the QSR's that first come to mind when you think college football, Chipotle will sponsor a number of bowls this year including the Texas Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Frisco Bowl and First Responder Bowl. In addition, Chipotle is launching a clever bowl-themed promotion around the fast casual chain’s new direct delivery service launched in August.

Biolase - Already a sponsor of the Angels, Mavericks and Chargers, the world’s leading innovator in dental lasers inked deals with three bowls this year: the First Responder Bowl, Armed Forces Bowl and Frisco Bowl.

TopGolf - The wildly popular franchise of golf-themed entertainment locations sponsors the TaxSlayer Bowl, Arizona Bowl and Alamo Bowl.

Cheribundi - In addition to its title sponsorship of the Boca Raton Bowl, the cherry juice brand, popular with athletes, added seven additional college football bowl sponsorships this year.

SoFi - A newcomer to bowl season, but certainly no stranger to sponsoring college sports, FinTech giant, SoFi, is one of this year's newest title sponsors. SoFi's Hawaii Bowl title sponsorship represents a drop in the bucket when compared to the company's estimated $200 million annual marketing spend.

Now crack open a Cheribundi and enjoy the games! Here's a completed rundown of all 40 bowl games.