Manhattan
The Kansas State football team will have multiple new sponsors this season.
When the Wildcats take the field for their first game against Nicholls at Bill Snyder Family Stadium next month, fans will see the logo of the team’s newest business partner displayed prominently on every football uniform.
K-State has agreed to a jersey patch sponsorship with Purple Wave Auction for the upcoming season. Purple Wave is a Manhattan-based business that appealed to the Wildcats for its local ties.
It’s also hard to beat that name for a K-State sponsor.
“We could not be any more pleased to team up with Purple Wave Auction on this special partnership,” K-State athletics director Gene Taylor said in a statement. “What makes it even more special is aligning with a local company and brand that share the same values and mission, and that is what we have done.”
Purple Wave Auction expressed enthusiasm about the deal.
“Football is collision and grit — moving something heavy against resistance and not backing down,” said Purple Wave Auction CEO Aaron McKee. “That’s our business too. We sell iron, we sell hard, and we don’t hide behind a reserve price. Wildcat football plays the same way, and we’re proud to be on their jersey.”
K-State didn’t share financial details when it announced the arrangement. For now, the value of the sponsorship agreement is unknown. But it will bring extra money to the athletic department.
This will mark the first time that K-State has sported a sponsorship logo on its football uniforms. But the Wildcats are joining a growing group of teams that will wear jersey patches this season.
Four other Big 12 teams have already announced deals for jersey patches: BYU, Kansas, Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
The Wildcats will also wear the Monster Energy Drink logo on its uniforms and display the product on its football field as part of a conference-wide sponsorship agreement with the Big 12.
K-State also announced a field logo sponsorship with Progressive Insurance earlier this week.
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Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.