Ivy League Partners with Citizens Bank to Present the Inaugural Ivy League Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournaments

With its strong heritage dating back to 1828, Citizens Bank is the ideal presenting sponsor of the inaugural tournaments to be held this weekend

PRINCETON, N.J.--()--The Ivy League is pleased to announce that Citizens Bank will be the presenting partner of the 2017 Inaugural Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments held March 11-12 at the Palestra in Philadelphia. JMI Sports, the official marketing rights agency of the Ivy League, negotiated the agreement.

As the presenting sponsor, Citizens Bank will have a significant presence throughout all facets of the first-ever Ivy League Basketball Tournaments—on television and radio with the Ivy League’s media partners ESPN and Westwood One, respectively, as well as on-site at the Palestra and digitally on the Ivy League Digital Network.

“We’re excited to have Citizens Bank as the presenting partner of the Inaugural Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments,” said Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris. “Both the Ivy League and Citizens Bank balance history and tradition with modern success, and we can think of no better sponsor for the first-ever basketball tournaments.”

“Citizens Bank is thrilled to partner with the Ivy League for what is sure to be a memorable weekend of basketball,” said Beth Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Consumer Strategy, Citizens Bank. “We are proud to support bringing great sporting events to the communities where we live and work, and there is no better venue to host this weekend’s games than the storied Palestra in Philadelphia.”

As part of the agreement, Citizens Bank will also be an official partner of the Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Tournaments that will be contested during the weekend of May 5.

“We are very proud to introduce Citizens Bank as a new partner of the Ivy League,” stated Erik Judson, CEO of JMI Sports. “This sponsorship agreement connects two brands which have a rich heritage in the northeast and a strong vision for the future that will establish a partnership to deliver great value for both parties.”

In addition to negotiating the deal to have Citizens Bank be the presenting partner of the Ivy League Basketball Tournaments, JMI Sports also reached agreements for the Ivy League with Coca-Cola, Under Armour and Nike.

ABOUT THE IVY LEAGUE
The Ivy League is the most diverse intercollegiate conference in the country with more than 8,000 student-athletes competing each year. Sponsoring conference championships in 33 men's and women's sports and averaging more than 35 varsity teams at each school, the Ivy League provides more intercollegiate athletic opportunities per school than any other conference in the country. All eight Ivy schools are among the top 20 of NCAA Division I schools in number of sports offered for both men and women and enjoy regular competitive success at the highest championship levels of NCAA Division I athletics.

The League’s schools -- Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale -- share a rich history of success and influence in college athletics, dating back to the origins of intercollegiate competition. Ivy League institutions have won 287 team national championships and 579 individual national championships since intercollegiate competition began. The Ivy League conference was formally established in 1954, based on the mutual agreement that intercollegiate athletics competition should be "kept in harmony with the essential educational purposes of the institution." For more information, please visit www.ivyleaguesports.com.

ABOUT CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $149.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 2016. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens helps its retail customers “bank better” with mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and approximately 1,200 Citizens Bank branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Citizens also provides wealth management, mortgage lending, auto lending, student lending and commercial banking services in select markets nationwide. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest hedging, leasing and asset finance, specialty finance and trade finance. Citizens operates through its subsidiaries Citizens Bank, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania as Citizens Bank, Citizens Commercial Banking and Citizens One. Additional information about Citizens and its full line of products and services can be found at www.citizensbank.com.

ABOUT JMI SPORTS
JMI Sports is a full-service collegiate marketing firm providing the highest quality management of athletics multimedia rights and breaking new ground in the creation of Total Campus Marketing programs, maximizing the economic potential of universities. Clients include Clemson University, University of Kentucky, University of Pennsylvania, Arizona State University, the Ivy League and University of Georgia (in a joint venture with IMG College). JMI Sports is also a highly regarded project manager for the development of collegiate and professional sports facilities. JMI Sports was founded in 2006 by CEO Erik Judson, and technology entrepreneur John Moores, former owner of the San Diego Padres. For more information, please visit www.jmisports.com.

Contacts

The Ivy League
Meghan Moore, 609-258-2441
Assistant Executive Director for Communications & Championships
meghan@ivyleaguesports.com
or
Citizens Financial Group
Lauren DiGeronimo, 781-471-1454
Vice President, Media Relations
lauren.digeronimo@citizensbank.com
or
Ivy League Sports Marketing powered by JMI Sports
Paul Bamundo, 203-909-6320
Chief Marketing Officer
bamundo@jmisports.com

Contacts

The Ivy League
Meghan Moore, 609-258-2441
Assistant Executive Director for Communications & Championships
meghan@ivyleaguesports.com
or
Citizens Financial Group
Lauren DiGeronimo, 781-471-1454
Vice President, Media Relations
lauren.digeronimo@citizensbank.com
or
Ivy League Sports Marketing powered by JMI Sports
Paul Bamundo, 203-909-6320
Chief Marketing Officer
bamundo@jmisports.com