BERKELEY – Cal Athletics and its multimedia rightsholder, LEARFIELD's Cal Bears Sports Properties, and West Realm Shires Services Inc., owners and operators of FTX.US ("FTX"), a leading U.S.-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, announced Monday the first-ever collegiate cryptocurrency naming rights sponsorship. As part of the $17.5 million deal, LEARFIELD will accept the full payment in cryptocurrency on behalf of the university.
Through this historic, 10-year agreement, FTX receives naming rights to the field at California Memorial Stadium, which will be known as FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium.
"We believe we have found a great partner in FTX," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "FTX is a growing company at the forefront of innovation in an emerging technology, one that fits well at both Cal and in the Bay Area. This agreement extends well beyond field naming rights, which is part of our strategic plan to diversify revenue streams in support of our student-athlete experience, and includes commitments for our Cameron Institute, Cal Veterans and students in need here in Berkeley. We are looking forward to building our relationship now and in the years ahead."
Through their new relationship, Cal Athletics and FTX will support and build out a community engagement program for the Cameron Institute for Student-Athlete Development. One of the primary focal points for the institute, the community engagement pillar helps student-athletes understand the benefits of public service and success through short-term and long-term commitments. With a significant financial investment from FTX, these efforts will initially focus on serving communities including the homeless population in Berkeley, underrepresented students and the Cal Veterans Group.
Cal and FTX share a connection in FTX.US's Chief Operating Officer Sina Nader, who earned his bachelor's degree in legal studies from Cal and was also a walk-on member of the Golden Bears football team during his time there.
Nader commented on the agreement, "We're excited to partner with one of the world's great universities and expand crypto's presence into the collegiate athletics landscape. This historic partnership will also allow us to collaborate on charitable initiatives that align with our organization's core values. Personally, I am excited to work alongside my alma mater to collaborate with local communities around a variety of causes. In the spirit of giving back, we are also committing an additional $200,000 on top of this partnership, which will specifically be used to help fight homelessness in Berkeley, and to support organizations that help underrepresented student groups at UC Berkeley. "
"This is a landmark agreement in many respects, including payment in cryptocurrency," said Andy McDowell, vice president and general manager for LEARFIELD's Cal Bears Sports Properties. "This was a true collaboration allowing us to thoughtfully navigate an emerging category with a wide reach beyond just athletics. We worked closely with Cal Athletics in bringing this FTX relationship to life, in an effort to support a historic stadium and to touch the entire campus community."
In addition to field-naming rights, the relationship between Cal Athletics and FTX will feature new on-field branding and branding on athletics press backdrops, social integration, as well as the launch of a robust community service platform that will support projects across a variety of philanthropic causes.
The Bears' first game at the newly named FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium is slated for Saturday, Sept. 4, when Cal hosts Nevada.
About FTX.US
FTX.US is a U.S.-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, built from the ground up with customers in mind. Its mission is to grow the digital currency ecosystem, offer US and international traders a platform that inspires their loyalty, and to become the leading US crypto exchange by volume within the next two years.
About Cal Athletics
Founded in 1868, the University of California's flagship campus at Berkeley is one of the top-ranked universities in the world with 31 Nobel Prizes held by UC Berkeley alumni and offering more than 350 degree programs. Cal Athletics supports 850 student-athletes in 30 sports, and has as its mission: To Educate, Compete, Serve and Excel … Developing Leaders of Tomorrow. Cal teams have earns 98 national championships in 15 different sports, and Golden Bears have collected 223 medals at the Olympic Games.
About LEARFIELD
LEARFIELD is a leading media and technology services company in intercollegiate athletics. The company unlocks the value of sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform with innovative content and commerce solutions. LEARFIELD services includes licensing and multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and social media; data analytics; ticketing, ticket sales and professional concessions expertise; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed LEARFIELD Directors' Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.
BREAKING: Stephen Curry has agreed to a long-term deal with @FTX_Official, becoming a global ambassador for the crypto exchange.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 7, 2021
Curry will also receive an equity stake in the company as part of the deal, joining Tom Brady as a shareholder. pic.twitter.com/zkNgUA3kky
Sweet!okaydo said:BREAKING: Stephen Curry has agreed to a long-term deal with @FTX_Official, becoming a global ambassador for the crypto exchange.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 7, 2021
Curry will also receive an equity stake in the company as part of the deal, joining Tom Brady as a shareholder. pic.twitter.com/zkNgUA3kky
NEW - #Bitcoin plunged as much as 17% within minutes today, now at $47,000 or 11% down over 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/lJGcv4w39b
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 7, 2021
Yup, I'm handling it; and quite new. I immersed myself into crypto education Jan of this year, and began buying during the correction 2-3 months back...BearForce2 said:NEW - #Bitcoin plunged as much as 17% within minutes today, now at $47,000 or 11% down over 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/lJGcv4w39b
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 7, 2021
Can anyone handle this kind of volatility except for those who got in very early or are closely watching it every day?
I am all in on bitcoin (my IRA will go into bitcoin ETFs once they come online), and I bought at $20,000, and have bought at $65,000, and I will keep buying through this cycle up to $220K.Cal89 said:Yup, I'm handling it; and quite new. I immersed myself into crypto education Jan of this year, and began buying during the correction 2-3 months back...BearForce2 said:NEW - #Bitcoin plunged as much as 17% within minutes today, now at $47,000 or 11% down over 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/lJGcv4w39b
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 7, 2021
Can anyone handle this kind of volatility except for those who got in very early or are closely watching it every day?
The entire crypto market cap is smaller than AAPL. It's wild and with more massive legacy financial institutions getting involved, it's darn easy to manipulate.
With the exception of BTC, I view these as high tech venture start-ups. Once sold on the fundamentals, which I am, these swings are very tolerable for me. I also put a 1/3 of Roth IRA in crypto (BTC, ETH, ADA, SOL and MATIC). I invested the time, finally (due to early retirement), and I'm a convert. I, like many, was once critical of BTC and crypto. I was simply ignorant and I changed that...
I hope the cycle goes up to $220K. Either way, most feel at least $100-125k...Strykur said:I am all in on bitcoin (my IRA will go into bitcoin ETFs once they come online), and I bought at $20,000, and have bought at $65,000, and I will keep buying through this cycle up to $220K.Cal89 said:Yup, I'm handling it; and quite new. I immersed myself into crypto education Jan of this year, and began buying during the correction 2-3 months back...BearForce2 said:NEW - #Bitcoin plunged as much as 17% within minutes today, now at $47,000 or 11% down over 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/lJGcv4w39b
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 7, 2021
Can anyone handle this kind of volatility except for those who got in very early or are closely watching it every day?
The entire crypto market cap is smaller than AAPL. It's wild and with more massive legacy financial institutions getting involved, it's darn easy to manipulate.
With the exception of BTC, I view these as high tech venture start-ups. Once sold on the fundamentals, which I am, these swings are very tolerable for me. I also put a 1/3 of Roth IRA in crypto (BTC, ETH, ADA, SOL and MATIC). I invested the time, finally (due to early retirement), and I'm a convert. I, like many, was once critical of BTC and crypto. I was simply ignorant and I changed that...
Cal89 said:Yup, I'm handling it; and quite new. I immersed myself into crypto education Jan of this year, and began buying during the correction 2-3 months back...BearForce2 said:NEW - #Bitcoin plunged as much as 17% within minutes today, now at $47,000 or 11% down over 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/lJGcv4w39b
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 7, 2021
Can anyone handle this kind of volatility except for those who got in very early or are closely watching it every day?
The entire crypto market cap is smaller than AAPL. It's wild and with more massive legacy financial institutions getting involved, it's darn easy to manipulate.
With the exception of BTC, I view these as high tech venture start-ups. Once sold on the fundamentals, which I am, these swings are very tolerable for me. I also put a 1/3 of my Roth IRA in crypto (BTC, ETH, ADA, SOL and MATIC). I invested the time, finally (due to early retirement), and I'm a convert. I, like many, was once critical of BTC and crypto. I was simply ignorant and I changed that...
NOW - #Bitcoin: World’s first statue of #Satoshi unveiled in Hungary.pic.twitter.com/e9Gg8XA1ss
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 16, 2021
This may start down the slippery slope towards off topic, but that a perfectly legitimate company based on the concepts develop by libertarian disrupters (you all can google the mystery around Satoshi) will be used in naming rights (any payments using bitcoin) at very non-libertarian school like Cal represents an amazing level of irony.BearForce2 said:Cal89 said:Yup, I'm handling it; and quite new. I immersed myself into crypto education Jan of this year, and began buying during the correction 2-3 months back...BearForce2 said:NEW - #Bitcoin plunged as much as 17% within minutes today, now at $47,000 or 11% down over 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/lJGcv4w39b
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 7, 2021
Can anyone handle this kind of volatility except for those who got in very early or are closely watching it every day?
The entire crypto market cap is smaller than AAPL. It's wild and with more massive legacy financial institutions getting involved, it's darn easy to manipulate.
With the exception of BTC, I view these as high tech venture start-ups. Once sold on the fundamentals, which I am, these swings are very tolerable for me. I also put a 1/3 of my Roth IRA in crypto (BTC, ETH, ADA, SOL and MATIC). I invested the time, finally (due to early retirement), and I'm a convert. I, like many, was once critical of BTC and crypto. I was simply ignorant and I changed that...
I haven't jumped in yet but looking to after more research, what your thoughts on Coinbase? Meanwhile, this was kind of weird....NOW - #Bitcoin: World’s first statue of #Satoshi unveiled in Hungary.pic.twitter.com/e9Gg8XA1ss
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 16, 2021
Good post.Cal89 said:
BF2, sorry, just saw your post and wifeisafurd's response...
Coinbase is legit, had a recent IPO, which offers some legitimacy, for some at least. It caters more to beginners, which is very important. Coinbase Pro is what I use, when I use Coinbase. Once you really get into crypto, multiple exchanges is the way to go. I like Kraken the most, for a few reasons, although there is no a viable way to ACH funds yet, IMO. Their Cryptowatch platform is one big reason I like it the most. Also their security. Heck, if I come-out of retirement for one last stint, they are on my shortlist. The next exchange to go public might actually be Kraken... If employed there, one can choose to be compensated in crypto, and/or fiat.
As 'wife' states, search the web on Satoshi. Quite fascinating. Having educated myself a lot this year, to help others who desire the same, my recommendation is to first really try to understand our current monetary system, and how it has evolved or even devolved over time. Very few do. I'm talking the Fed, our banking system as a whole, it's fractional requirements, the gold standard that was... It will give one a very realistic, eye-opening perspective.
I brought a book with me to the Cal game yesterday called "Layered Money". It's a fantastic primer for such, and although not done yet (short read, but just started), it now already tops my list to read first, at least for most people. It's written by a Southern Cal prof (boo)... That said, "The Bitcoin Standard" does dedicate some quality time to the history of money, and it's well done. The layered approach to understanding the concepts of money lends itself well to what can become a complicated topic. The digital transformation of our world continues, and currency, the many related projects will be no exception.
FTX is getting a lot out of the Cal relationship. IMO, very creative and productive marketing thus far... Let's hope it's a win/win for both Cal and FTX.
