April 14, 2009

MAACO ANNOUNCED AS BOWL GAME’S TITLE SPONSOR

Newly rebranded MAACO Bowl Las Vegas set for Dec. 22, 2009

LAS VEGAS -- (April, 14, 2009) Organizers announced Tuesday that MAACO Inc. will serve as title sponsor for at least the next three years for the annual college football postseason game that will now be known as the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas.

MAACO is America’s Body Shop, with close to 500 locations across the continent. MAACO provides collision repair and auto painting for 12,000 vehicles a week -- 600,000 a year -- far more than any other company in North America. The company has repaired more than 17 million vehicles since its founding in 1972.

The bowl’s executive director, Tina Kunzer-Murphy, also announced that the 2009 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas will be played Tuesday, Dec. 22, with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. PT at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, which is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Last year, the 17th edition of the bowl attracted 40,047 fans to Sam Boyd Stadium, which marked the fourth consecutive sellout crowd as Arizona defeated BYU 31-21.

“Our sponsorship agreement with MAACO produces an exciting partnership that will help our game continue to grow nationally,” Kunzer-Murphy said. “This bowl has flourished with four straight sellouts. Securing a three-year sponsorship with a well-recognized company such as MAACO ensures that we have a bright future.”

As the title sponsor of the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, MAACO will be incorporated into the official bowl logo and receive on-site exposure via signage and program advertising. MAACO also will receive television inventory, VIP/hospitality packages, and other in-game and bowl-week promotional elements.

“The MAACO Bowl Las Vegas is a powerful venue for MAACO to connect with the passion of college football fans while acknowledging the franchisees who have built the brand to become America's Body Shop," said Ken Walker, CEO and Chairman of MAACO Franchising, Inc. "This is a  great partnership -- college football, represented by two great conferences, with its unmatched enthusiasm and outstanding teams, and MAACO, represented by nearly 500 franchisees with the drive to be the best in serving the body repair and painting needs of millions of satisfied customers. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas.”

The 2009 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas will feature either the champion or first selection from the Mountain West Conference against the fourth/fifth selection from the Pac-10 Conference. Members from the two top leagues have faced each other in the last eight games with each conference winning four times.

After playing the last two years on Saturdays, the 2009 edition will mark only the second time that the bowl will be staged on a Tuesday -- the other being Dec. 25, 2001.

“To stay on a Saturday this season would have meant playing the game too early in the month (Dec. 19) and we think the Tuesday slot will be perfect,” Kunzer-Murphy said. “Playing on the 22nd gives fans from both teams plenty of time to enjoy the game and still get home for the holidays.”

Tickets for the 2009 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas will go on sale May 1. Prices remain unchanged at $20, $30, $50 and $100 and can be reserved by phone at 1-866-388-FANS or online at www.unlvtickets.com. Group & Corporate Package information is available by phone at (702) 732-3912. Additional information about the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas can be found at the official Web site www.lvbowl.com.

MAACO Inc.

Since 1972 MAACO’s impressive growth has secured a dominant 47% share of the U.S. automotive aftermarket paint market. With extraordinary brand recognition, nearly 500 MAACO franchise centers in the U.S. and Canada, and system-wide sales approaching one-half billion dollars, MAACO is recognized by consumers, experts in franchising and the media for overall excellence and growth potential. The company has been cited numerous times in Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Franchise 500 survey as No. 1 in its category. MAACO Franchising Inc. headquarters are in King of Prussia, Pa. For more information, visit www.maaco.com.

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – BIG EAST, SEC, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); St. Petersburg Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.) ; and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Charleston Classic (S.C.); Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); O’Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City); SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; and the ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

ESPN media contact: Jenny Zimmerman (407) 566-2213 or jennifer.j.zimmerman@espn.com