Jackson State University Head Football Coach Deion Sanders has landed a PepsiCo. deal not just for himself, but the entire Southwestern Athletic Conference. The SWAC is a 10-school athletic conference that includes historically Black colleges and universities like Grambling State, Alabama A&M, Jackson State and Texas Southern. Through the three-year partnership, PepsiCo. will sponsor various athletic competitions hosted by the conference and the company has also committed to hiring SWAC student-athletes upon graduation. PepsiCo. Derek Lewis explained the importance of the partnership during an interview with USA Today.
“This is kind of next level...The more attention that HBCUs get, the better it’s going to be for the students and also the communities. We’re going to be able to go deeper and wider in this partnership than ever before," Lewis said.
“The Deion work is parallel. He brings a tremendous amount to the table. He has a great relationship with Pepsi. We’re excited about his ambassadorship for what we’re going to do in the communities and beyond. I look at these as parallel paths that complement each other but certainly did not have a role in one getting done vs. the other. These both were organic in nature and they happen to be very complementary.”
Sanders has built a relationship with PepsiCo. over the course of three decades. He worked with the company throughout his playing days with the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys. He has now leveraged this relationship into a deal that will provide PepsiCo. sponsorship for SWAC basketball and football championships.
“We’ve been in a relationship for a long time,” Sanders added.
“And this just takes it to a whole ‘nother level. Back in the 1990s, like every year, it’s been about me. But now it’s not just about me. It’s about us. And that’s a beautiful thing, man. I love it.”
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