Shawn Lytle and his team just broke new ground with a college basketball sponsorship first.

Yesterday, Lytle, deputy global head and U.S. country head of Philadelphia-based Macquarie Investment Management [profile], unveiled a multi-year sponsorship deal with the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (Penn Athletics). While the exact length and price tag of that deal have not been disclosed, it includes a unique branding opportunity; UPenn's historic basketball court, the Palestra, will be renamed Macquarie Court at the Palestra.

Kevin Bonner, a spokesman for Penn Athletics, confirms that Macquarie IM's logo will be the first ever displayed on the 91-year-old court (which makes it two years older than Delaware, Macquarie's Philadelphia-U.S. mutual fund business). The Palestra is home to UPenn programs in basketball, women's gymnastics, women's volleyball, and wrestling; the court lays claim to hosting more games and more visiting than any other college arena, ever.

The sponsorship comes in advance of UPenn's basketball season starting next week. Macquarie IM will be the presenting sponsor of UPenn's men's and women's basketball team, in addition to sponsoring the Young Quakers Community Athletics Program, National Girls and Women in Sports Day at UPenn, and the new student-athlete Community Champion program. The sponsorship deal was brokered by Penn Athletics' exclusive multimedia rights partner, JMI Sports' Penn Sports Properties.

"Our commitment to this city and the community is part of our ethos," states Lytle, who is also president of Macquarie's Delaware Funds. "We are proud to sponsor Penn Athletics and the Palestra, an iconic Philadelphia institution, where talented men and women excel both on and off the court."

M. Grace Calhoun, director of athletics and recreation at UPenn, describes the Macquarie partnership as a "significant sponsorship" for Penn Athletics. Calhoun praises Macquarie for its "commitment to the city of Philadelphia and its youth," praise echoed by YQCA director Jennifer Chu.

The sponsorship is the result of a "nine- to twelve-month process," says Nino Vanin, vice president of sponsorship sales at Penn Sports Properties. 

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