San Diego County Credit Union on Thursday said it will be the new title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl, which going forward will be called the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.
The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl is the only college football bowl game among America’s 40 college football bowl games to have a credit union as a title sponsor.
The announcement comes just weeks after the San Diego Bowl Game Association decided to discontinue the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. The $7.9 billion SDCCU had been the title sponsor of that college football bowl game since it was first played in December 2005. The Holiday Bowl has been in existence since 1978.
“SDCCU is excited to be the title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl. We are proud to once again partner with the San Diego Bowl Game Association to achieve its mission to generate tourism, exposure, economic benefit and civic pride for San Diego by presenting the nation’s most exciting bowl game and festival of events,” Teresa Halleck, SDCCU’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
“I can’t think of a better alliance for San Diego’s premier sporting event,” said Marlee J Ehrenfeld, 2017 San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl president. “San Diego County Credit Union is recognized nationally as a remarkable financial institution and longtime community leader in the region. The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl will set the standard for innovative title sponsorships that elevate the entire bowl game experience.”
The San Diego Bowl Game Association said it made the decision to discontinue the SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl to consolidate efforts and focus on the production of one dynamic event, the Holiday Bowl. The final San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl was played Dec. 21, 2016, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in front of a crowd of 28,114, where the Brigham Young University Cougars beat the University of Wyoming Cowboys 24-21.
“SDCCU was the proud title sponsor of the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl since its inception in 2005,” said Halleck. “We are especially proud of the enormous impact the bowl game had on San Diego during that time. It became a holiday tradition, created memorable experiences, gave tens of thousands of dollars to charities and generated more than $100 million for the local economy. We look forward to seeing the impact of our support of the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.”
According to the San Diego Bowl Game Association, the non-profit entity that produces the game, the Holiday Bowl generates millions of dollars into the San Diego economy during a week when the region’s tourism industry is at one of its slowest times of the year. The mission of the Association is to generate tourism, exposure, economic benefit and civic pride for San Diego and its citizens by producing the nation’s most exciting bowl game and festival of activities. Officials report that since its inception in 1978, the association has generated more than $750 million of revenue into the local economy.
In addition to being the title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl, SDCCU pledges to donate $1 from every ticket sold to Biz Kid$ to help teach kids about money and business. Launched in 2008 in partnership with the National Credit Union Foundation, Biz Kid$ is an award-winning financial literacy program focused on teaching kids how to use credit wisely and the importance of saving, budgeting, investing and giving back to their communities.
San Diego County Credit Union has supported the Holiday Bowl for a number of years in various capacities. Most recently in 2016, SDCCU was the presenting sponsor for the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade. The parade takes place each year on the morning of the Holiday Bowl.
The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl will match top teams from the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences and will be played at Qualcomm Stadium.
