What was once the Red River Shootout and then the Red River Rivalry has a new sugardaddy.
More ominously. it appears even regular season games are up for sale to the highest bidder. From SoonerSports.com:
NORMAN, Okla. -- Same classic game with a re-energized brand: the 2014 annual meeting between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns is now the AT&T Red River Showdown.
AT&T Inc., the University of Oklahoma and The University of Texas announced Friday the updated name as part of a brand refresh for the series, which includes a new game logo and individual team marks.
The 109th AT&T Red River Showdown is scheduled for Oct. 11, 2014, at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. The market is the center of football attention in 2014, with the first College Football Playoff title game scheduled in Arlington at AT&T Stadium Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. The AT&T Red River Showdown game between the Sooners and Longhorns has been a benchmark in establishing contenders for both Big 12 Conference and post-season football championships.
As stoked as I am about re-energized brands, it didn't surprise me when a CTRL+F searches for "$," "money" and "dollar" yielded no results. It has to be six figures for each school though, right?
Also, I'm pretty sure this will be the first AT&T Red River Showdown. Whatever. I will never call it the AT&T Red River Showdown.
