Arizona Bowl announces Snoop Dogg sponsorship, bails on Barstool branding

Why does a Snoop Dogg partnership make sense?

Snoop Dogg, whose legal name is Calvin Broadus Jr., has long been a recurring character in the sphere of football influence. Broadus Jr. played football in his early years before his rap career, and he coached his son Cordell's youth football teams as time went on. He has remained active in the youth sports scene in Los Angeles, maintaining a league where he still coaches.

On a broader sports scale, he's starting to make some bigger moves that could lead to Broadus Jr. becoming a fixture in the North American sports scene. He was a part of the investment group led by Neko Sparks that made an unsuccessful ownership bid for the NHL's Ottawa Senators. He's going a little bit smaller with Arizona, but making himself the face of the partnership.

Broadus Jr. took to X to tease the partnership the night of Sunday, May 5, just over 15 hours before Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports released an official report.

Per Dellenger, this is the first time a bowl game has partnered with an alcoholic beverage brand. The bowl game's committee cited a willingness to go outside the box and take a calculated risk, and executive director Kym Adair had the following to say to Dellenger:

"An alcohol brand has always been off the table for us until recently. Everybody in the stadium is drinking a beer or cocktail. It’s time for the industry to evolve."

- Kym Adair, Arizona Bowl exec. director

This follows a trend of bowl game committees breaking the mold with their marketing conventions. Just three years ago, the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl became the first bowl game to be named after a living person — others had been named in honor of notable deceased figures — and the Arizona Bowl is also following suit.

When bowl season comes around and Tucson is bustling with MAC and Mountain West fans for the late-December showdown, I think it's safe to say we all know what the cups in Arizona Stadium will be running over with: Gin & Juice.

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