Colorado State University and Coca-Cola Refreshments have announced a new 10 year, $5.2 million partnership.
In addition to being CSU’s sole beverage provider the deal will fund both athletic and academic programs including a new Beverage Management Institute for the study of water sustainability issues.
It will also be use for student scholarships.
“Of the five million over the ten years, at least $100-thousand per year, so over a million total will go to student scholarships,” says CSU vice president for operations Amy Parsons.
Parsons says turning to the business model is growing trend especially as Colorado colleges continue to see cuts in state funding.
“We are really being creative about ways to generate revenue for the university, to help backfill the cuts we’ve taken from the state. And one way to do that is to be more creative about how we do business with our business partners.”
The multi-million dollar deal is the second corporate sponsorship that CSU has secured in the last four months. A partnership with OfficeMax was announced in January.
