Gator Bowl Chairman Greg Smith announced Thursday that TaxSlayer.com signed a three-year contract to be the title sponsor of the game.
While the exact dollar amount of the contract was not revealed, Gator Bowl President and CEO Rick Catlett said it was more than $2 million.
“When we started this search, we were looking for more than a title sponsor, we were looking for a partner who wanted to be involved with college football, so we could take the Gator Bowl to the next level,” Catlett said.
“This partnership will help us compete with bowls like the Outback and the Capital One, and we are glad that ESPN was able to match us up with them,” he said.
The TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl will be played at 1 p.m. Jan. 2 at EverBank Field and it will be televised on ESPN2.
Teams continue to realign in different conferences. The talent pool continues to increase as teams like Nebraska join the Big Ten and Texas A&M prepares to enter the SEC, the two conferences from which the Gator Bowl chooses teams.
“I really feel good for where we are positioned in the future,” said Smith.
TaxSlayer.com offers online tax preparation software and is a part of Rhodes Financial Services, which is based in Evans, Ga., near Augusta.
It sponsors the stock car racing teams of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Aric Almirola and Josh Wise.
TaxSlayer.com considered factors such as the audience for college football and Jacksonville’s military history before agreeing to the sponsorship.
“Our service is great for the person just starting their career and may not be knowledgeable about filing their own tax return. Most of these people have just graduated from college and are working at their first career job, so the sponsorship helps us reach that market,” said Darcel Walker, director of growth for Rhodes Financial Services. “We also liked the strong military heritage in Jacksonville.”
TaxSlayer.com provides free tax preparation for active military.
“Our company and this outstanding organization can combine our common efforts and make a stronger impact in serv-ing the young adults and military personnel of this great country,” said Jimmy Rhodes, president of TaxSlayer.com.
The title sponsorship contributes to the payout offered to teams that are invited to play in bowl games, and the higher the payout, the higher the level of talent bowls can attract.
The total payout to the 2011 Gator Bowl featuring Mississippi State University and the University of Michigan was $5.4 million.
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