Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network Establish Big Ten Corporate Partnerships to Lead League-Level Sponsorships and Activations

The Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network (BTN) today announced the creation of Big Ten Corporate Partnerships (BTCP), a dedicated team to lead the conference's league-level corporate sponsorships and partner activations. Industry veteran Tyler Kupper has been tapped to lead the new business as the vice president of sponsorships. Mr. Kupper will work in conjunction with Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren and BTN President François McGillicuddy.

BTCP will offer strategic corporate sponsorships, innovative partnership activations, television and digital media inventory and creative adverting opportunities associated with the league-level events and VIP fan experiences during the conference championships and tournaments. The collaboration between BTCP and the Big Ten Network media sales team, led by BTN Vice President of Advertising and Sales, Jack Brown, positions the entire conference for further growth.

"Having a powerful presence in the three largest media markets, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, the BTCP team will deliver a breadth of innovative, strategic, and holistic corporate sponsorships and partner activations," stated Commissioner Warren. "We are incredibly grateful for the Big Ten fans. Their passionate, loyal, and powerful support of our member institutions and student-athletes across linear and digital platforms, and in-person at our championship events, brings unparalleled value to our world-class partners. It is a fantastic time to be member of the Big Ten Conference, and we welcome Tyler to our team."

"Together, Tyler and Jack will lead a dynamic team poised to maximize Big Ten assets by offering tailored solutions to meet the needs of our partners," said BTN's McGillicuddy. "Our current outstanding sponsor partners and future partners will have our linear and digital platforms, and our new direct sponsorship offerings providing outstanding brands a 360-degree approach to connect with Big Ten fans."

Mr. Kupper previously served as chief revenue officer for Weatherman Umbrella and director of sports marketing for USA Today Sports Media Group. Mr. Kupper will be based in the Rosemont, IL, and New York Big Ten Conference offices.

BTCP assets will include impactful linear and digital media inventory, on-site promotional activation, in-venue signage, official designations, and corporate hospitality. The BTCP team will offer a range of meaningful ways for conference partners to connect directly with Big Ten brand loyal alumni and fans including the BTN's current assets that continue to amplify corporate partnership opportunities.

Big Ten Conference (bigten.org) is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching, and public service. Founded in 1896, Big Ten Conference has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness, and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten Conference institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,800 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. Big Ten Conference sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men's ice hockey and men's and women's lacrosse since 2013.

About The Big Ten Network

A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 1,700 events across all platforms, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The Fox Sports App is the digital extension of the Big Ten Network, delivering live games and on-demand programming to Big Ten Network customers via the web, smartphones, and tablets. Network events include football, men's and women's basketball games, dozens of Big Ten Olympic sports and championship events, studio shows and classic games. B1G+ is the subscription streaming service for thousands of live non-televised games, next day on-demand archives, 14 school channels programmed 24 hours a day and access to Big Ten Network's library of previous season classics and original programming. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation's finest universities, including the Emmy-nominated The Journey. The network is carried by all the major video distributors across the United State and Canada, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Spectrum, Xfinity, Altice USA, Cox Contour TV, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. Big Ten Network is also available through the majority of streaming providers, including DIRECTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Vidgo and YouTube TV. For additional information, please visit www.btn.com.