12 Mar March Madness Sponsors: Top Brands At The NCAA Tournament
March Madness is one of the most valuable sponsorship platforms in sports, delivering weeks of continuous exposure across broadcast, social media, and live events.
The NCAA operates a unique sponsorship model through its Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners Program, a structure that provides brands with exclusive rights, category protection, and access to all 90 NCAA championships. Through partnerships negotiated by TNT Sports and CBS Sports, these brands gain access to one of the largest and most engaged audiences in sports – anchored by the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments.
That scale is driven by the NCAA’s massive media rights deal with CBS and Turner. In 2026, the men’s basketball tournament will generate more than $1 billion in broadcast rights revenue for the first time, according to Sportico, underscoring the event’s central role in the NCAA’s business and its unmatched reach across sports.
With more than 120 games played across both tournaments over three weeks, March Madness creates one of the most sustained and dynamic exposure environments in sports – where brands can capture value not just during live broadcasts, but across the social and digital moments that extend far beyond the final buzzer.
The NCAA’s top-tier sponsors—Corporate Champions—receive premium visibility and category exclusivity, with integrated activations across NCAA championships, including March Madness.
Capital One
Capital One maintains one of the most visible presences in March Madness as the presenting sponsor of both the Men’s and Women’s Bracket Challenges, now fully integrated across NCAA March Madness Live, the app, and NCAA.com. The brand also brings its long-running “Road Trip” campaign back for its 16th year, featuring talent like Charles Barkley, Samuel L. Jackson, Magic Johnson, and Caitlin Clark—keeping Capital One at the center of tournament conversation. Beyond digital engagement, Capital One activates through marquee fan events, including March Madness Fan Fest and the March Madness Music Festival during Final Four weekend.
AT&T
AT&T’s partnership spans both the men’s and women’s tournaments, centered around powering the real-time connections that define March Madness. Its 2026 campaign positions the tournament as a “giant group chat,” with fans streaming, sharing, and reacting to every moment, while sponsorship of the Men’s and Women’s Bracket Managers on CBS Sports keeps the brand embedded throughout the fan experience. During Final Four weekend, AT&T extends that presence through marquee events like the Block Party and Super Saturday Concert.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola blends traditional advertising with fan engagement through interactive campaigns like its 2026 March Madness promotion, where fans can win instant prizes and a trip to the Final Four by participating throughout the tournament. The company also benefits from its Powerade brand, which appears prominently on sidelines, benches, and in-game hydration moments—creating consistent, always-on broadcast exposure.
Beyond the Champions tier, NCAA Corporate Partners activate across broadcast, social, in-venue, and digital channels.
GEICO
GEICO activates around March Madness through its “Miles That Matter” docuseries, using storytelling to connect with fans while extending its presence through fan experiences, youth events like the Women’s Final Four Bounce, and community activations tied to the Final Four.
Marriott Bonvoy
As the Official Hotel Partner of the NCAA, Marriott Bonvoy activates around March Madness by connecting travel and fandom, using its “Where Gameday Checks In” campaign and loyalty experiences to highlight the moments around the game that extend fan engagement beyond the court.
Invesco QQQ
Invesco QQQ activates around March Madness by aligning its brand with innovation and performance, using content-driven storytelling to connect the tournament’s biggest moments with the next generation of leading companies in the Nasdaq-100.
The Home Depot
As the Official Home Improvement Partner of March Madness, The Home Depot activates through digital and social content that taps into tournament excitement, using creative collaborations to connect with fans and extend brand visibility throughout the event.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings leans into its role as a go-to watch destination for March Madness, combining in-restaurant experiences with limited-time menu items and merchandise drops that tap into the culture and energy of the tournament.
Wendy’s
Wendy’s activates as the Official Dunks Partner of March Madness, tying its menu and app experience to one of the game’s most exciting moments through its “Dunks Menu,” in-app sweepstakes, and real-time offers triggered by key plays like the first dunk of the championship games.
Pizza Hut
As the Official Pizza Sponsor of March Madness, Pizza Hut activates with game-day bundles, app-based promotions, and limited-edition collaborations like its Space Jam campaign, using nostalgia and rewards to drive fan engagement and extend its presence across the tournament.
Reese’s
Reese’s activates around March Madness by turning busted brackets into a social-driven campaign, encouraging fans to share their picks and extending brand visibility through user-generated content tied to the tournament’s most relatable moments.
Great Clips
As the Official Hair Salon of March Madness, Great Clips activates with a tournament-themed campaign centered around a $10 haircut offer, amplified through TV, digital, and social content featuring talent like Mikey Day and college athletes.
Ritz
Ritz activates around March Madness through NIL partnerships with players like Purdue’s Braden Smith, using social-first content and fan promotions to extend brand visibility through player-driven moments and game-day snacking behavior.
Samsung Galaxy
As the official smartphone of the NCAA, Samsung Galaxy activates around March Madness by enhancing the fan experience through technology, combining live activations, social content, and broadcast integrations that help capture and amplify the tournament’s biggest moments.
While not all apparel brands are official NCAA partners, they are among the biggest beneficiaries of March Madness exposure.
Brands like Nike, Jordan, Adidas, and Under Armour are embedded directly into gameplay through jerseys and on-court presence – giving them:
Continuous visibility throughout every possession
Inclusion in every highlight and viral clip
Exposure tied to player performance and breakout stars
Unlike traditional sponsors, whose visibility is tied to specific placements, apparel brands benefit from always-on exposure across both broadcast and social media – making them some of the most consistently visible brands throughout the tournament.
Wilson Sporting Goods, as the official basketball provider, also benefits from constant in-game visibility, appearing in every possession across both tournaments.
While official sponsors benefit from structured visibility, team-driven social media plays a major role in amplifying brand exposure during March Madness.
Based on Zoomph data from the 2025–26 season, several programs entered the tournament with massive built-in audience reach and engagement:
Men’s Tournament Highlights
Duke led all programs with over 240M impressions and 10.6M engagements
UNC and Michigan followed, each generating massive national reach
The SEC and Big Ten dominated overall volume, reflecting the scale of their fan bases
Women’s Tournament Highlights
UConn led all programs with 10.4M engagements, nearly matching Duke’s total
Iowa and LSU continue to drive strong engagement through star-powered content
South Carolina demonstrated high efficiency, generating strong engagement relative to total impressions
How March Madness Sponsorships Show Up Across Platforms
March Madness sponsorships extend far beyond traditional advertising, with brands activating across multiple touchpoints:
Broadcast integrations
In-game signage, graphic overlays, replays, and studio segments remain a foundational layer of exposure, delivering consistent visibility throughout every game.Social media content and highlights
Brands increasingly benefit from social amplification, where moments like buzzer-beaters and upsets are shared widely—often generating more total exposure than the live broadcast itself. Campaigns like Reese’s “busted bracket” activation and Ritz’s NIL partnerships show how brands are embedding directly into fan-driven content.In-venue experiences and fan events
From Final Four activations to fan festivals and community events like GEICO’s Women’s Final Four Bounce, brands create immersive experiences that connect directly with fans on-site.Digital platforms and second-screen engagement
Bracket challenges, mobile apps, and interactive campaigns—led by partners like Capital One, AT&T, and Wendy’s—keep fans engaged throughout the tournament and drive ongoing interaction beyond the game itself.Content and storytelling integrations
Brands like GEICO and Marriott Bonvoy are investing in long-form and lifestyle content that highlights the moments around the game, while Samsung Galaxy uses technology and media integrations to capture and enhance the fan experience in real time.
1. Align with Moments, but Show Up in Them
The most valuable exposure comes from viral plays, upsets, and player-driven moments. But capturing that value depends on having visible broadcast assets in those moments—from on-court signage to on-screen integrations—so your brand is present when highlights are created and shared.
2. Social Amplification Multiplies Value
The biggest spikes in exposure happen after the play. As highlights and reactions spread across social, brands visible in those moments benefit from compounding reach and engagement, often exceeding the original broadcast audience.
3. Consistency Drives ROI
Always-on placements deliver the most cumulative value. Persistent visibility across broadcast and in-venue assets ensures brands are consistently captured in both live coverage and social content—leading to greater total exposure and more defensible ROI.
March Madness remains one of the most powerful stages in sports for brand exposure—but the way that value is created has fundamentally changed.
Today, it’s not just about where your brand appears—it’s about how often it’s seen, how far those moments travel, and how they translate into measurable impact across broadcast and social media.
That’s where Zoomph comes in.
Zoomph helps brands and rights holders track sponsorship performance across every touchpoint, capturing the moments that matter and turning them into clear, defensible value.
If you’re investing in sponsorships, you should be able to see, measure, and prove what’s working.
Ready to see how Zoomph measures sponsorship performance across broadcast and social? Request a demo to explore how you can capture the full value of every moment.
