Colorado State University sealed a 10-year, $5.2 million partnership deal with Coca-Cola Refreshments today that will pump money into academics and athletics while also establishing a program in beverage management at CSU’s business school.
The university called the agreement “groundbreaking” for the way it not only brings in more than a half-million dollars annually, but also provides for the two institutions to share resources from Fort Collins to China.
Amy Parsons, CSU’s vice president of operations, estimates that the total worth of the package probably doubles its cash value.
“We asked a lot this time around,” she said. “Coca-Cola responded in an amazing way.”
After two decades as a Pepsi school, CSU struck a deal that calls for Coke to become the exclusive beverage provider at CSU. The company provides cash for scholarships, mainly to aid the university’s research emphasis on water sustainability and conservation.
Additionally, $40,000 of the academic funding will help launch the Beverage Management Institute in the university’s College of Business.
The deal also makes Coke a high-level sponsor of CSU sports. About $100,000 a year goes to the athletic department and gives the company sideline rights for sports beverages, coolers, cups and towels.
Non-cash benefits include new recycling bins for the campus, visits from Coke’s experts in academic areas and supplies of Coke products largely for the athletic and student affairs departments.
When the school’s latest beverage contract expired, Parsons sought a different kind of pitch with academic perks like internships, visiting experts in classrooms and research collaborations.
“With the recession of the last few years, and losing funding from the state, it forced us — and in some ways inspired us — to do business in creative ways,” Parsons said. “When they came in and I asked the world of them, really pushed limits on how to think about partnering with us worldwide and on academic programs, they understood what we were asking of them.”
For instance, the school’s study of water sustainability fits well with Coke’s experience in that area, she added. The partnership could result in a melding of programs to produce a “pipeline of expertise.”
The deal is unique for Coca-Cola as well.
“The whole business model is different,” said company spokeswoman Corby Casler. “We do a lot globally around water sustainability and purification in underdeveloped countries, so we can help CSU with that. And we have a huge presence in China.”
Four of CSU’s six “partner universities” in China already have working relationships with Coca-Cola, presenting further opportunities for collaboration involving both students and faculty.
The Coke deal marks the university’s second major partnership that takes a new angle on corporate cooperation.
In January, CSU reached a deal with OfficeMax that will save more than $1 million annually on office supplies. But it also creates a revenue stream through a program in which customers who identify themselves at OfficeMax as CSU “friends” channel rebates to the university.
That arrangement will provide two paid internships for students and eventually fund five $1,000 scholarships.
