Big Ten Conference Announces U.S. Bank As Corporate Sponsor

New multi-year agreement makes U.S. Bank the official bank of the Big Ten

U.S. Bank is the newest corporate sonsor of the Big Ten Conference.

U.S. Bank is the newest corporate sonsor of the Big Ten Conference.

Dec. 27, 2004

Park Ridge, IL - The Big Ten Conference and U.S. Bank have announced an exclusive marketing agreement which makes U.S. Bank an official corporate sponsor of the Big Ten. The new multi-year agreement grants U.S. Bank the right to be titled "the official bank of the Big Ten."

As an official corporate sponsor of the Big Ten, U.S. Bank will be granted comprehensive benefits that include television tie-ins with Big Ten basketball and football along with marketing opportunities for all 25 League sports, including each of the 21 Conference Championship events. Benefits also include promotional, product and on-line opportunities, special event and on-site marketing, tickets and hospitality, use of the Big Ten mark and presence in all publications.

"The Big Ten Conference is proud to welcome U.S. Bank as a corporate sponsor and is honored to be affiliated with a corporation of this caliber," said Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. "U.S. Bank's involvement with the Big Ten will assist in providing opportunities for more than 8,500 student-athletes at our 11 institutions while also enhancing the college sports experience for our players, coaches and fans."

"U.S. Bank is proud to be the official bank of the Big Ten Conference," said Richard K. Davis, president and chief operating officer of U.S. Bancorp, the parent company of U.S. Bank. "This is very exciting news to be joining with one of the elite academic and athletic conferences in the country. Currently, U.S. Bank has more than 800 of its 2,344 full-service branches located in states that Big Ten teams call home. The Big Ten with more than 100 years of tradition and U.S. Bank with more than 140 years of banking experience are an All-American, winning combination for alumni, students, faculty, fans and consumers everywhere."

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $193 billion in assets, is the sixth largest bank holding company in the United States. The company operates 2,346 banking offices and 4,621 ATMs in 24 states, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. U.S. Bancorp is home of the Five Star Service Guarantee in which the company pays customers if certain key banking benefits and services are not met. U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at usbank.com.

The Big Ten Conference is an association of 11 world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in student-athletes' lives and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. Big Ten universities provide in excess of $76 million in athletic scholarship aid to more than 8,500 men and women student-athletes who compete for 25 championships, 12 for men and 13 for women. In 2003-04, the Big Ten distributed over $115 million in revenues to its 11 member institutions. Conference institutions sponsor broad-based athletic programs with more than 270 teams. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.