Cooper to sponsor varsity sports in six collegiate athletic conferences

FINDLAY, Ohio (March 30)—Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has signed multiyear agreements to sponsor numerous varsity sports and conference championships in six collegiate athletic conferences. Cooper now becomes "the official tire" of the Southeastern, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Mountain West and Pacific-10 conferences, sponsoring football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track and field, soccer, swimming, field hockey, cross country, wrestling, gymnastics, tennis and golf. "The geographic coverage represented by these conferences and the passionate loyalty of their alumni and fans were very attractive to us," said John Fahl, Cooper executive vice president and president of the firm´s global tire operations. "This program provides excellent opportunities for our dealers to implement targeted consumer and business-to-business marketing programs in key sales territories."