One of the Lone Star Conference’s biggest rivalries will be even more significant this season, as State Farm Insurance has agreed to sponsor the rivalry football game between ACU and Angelo State University.
The sponsorship will highlight this year’s Oct. 30 game between the two teams. Named the “Big Country-Concho Valley Shootout,” State Farm aims to market this game across Texas.
“We have signed a contract with Abilene Christian and Angelo State for a football rivalry game for two years,” said State Farm marketing manager Ronnie Lee Vandiver. “Involved with that is a kick for cash at every home game of Angelo State and ACU for $10,000, meaning a student could kick a field goal and win $10,000.”
State Farm will sponsor a Kick for Cash Contest at both schools for each home game, giving one participant the chance to win $10,000 at every home game. State Farm will also recognize student-athletes from each institution and will make a financial contribution to the general scholarship funds in each university’s department of athletics.
“We are extremely excited about this opportunity to enhance the rivalry game with Angelo State and what it is going to mean for our student-athletes, our coaches and fans,” director of athletics Jared Mosley said. “I am extremely excited about the increase we will get in visibility and the brand recognition, hopefully as this relationship matures and continues over time.”
This year’s game will be played at Shotwell stadium in Abilene. Angelo State has the lead in the overall series with a 28-18-1 record. However, ACU has had the Rams number recently winning seven of the last eight, including four in a row.
“We plan on having a long relationship with both schools, and hopefully this thing blows up into one of our bigger rivalries such as Texas A&M and Texas,” Vandiver said. “The rivalry has been there for a long time – we just want to give it a name to make it more exciting and more media friendly.”
The State Farm sponsorship of the ACU-ASU game is the newest in a long list of great rivalry games around the country, including: the State Farm Lone Star Showdown (University of Texas vs. Texas A&M University); the DFW Duel: The Battle for the Iron Skillet (Texas Christian University vs. Southern Methodist University) and the Arch Rivalry (Missouri University vs. Illinois University).
