Financial services company Citi partners with Notre Dame

The GIST: Financial services company Citi partnered with Notre Dame yesterday, providing a major assist to the Fighting Irish women’s basketball (WBB) team. Citi is now the title sponsor of November 12th’s inaugural Shamrock Classic WBB game against UC Berkeley in St. Louis, Missouri. Shamrock shakes for all.

The details: The day before the Classic, Citi and Notre Dame will host a luncheon for the athletes with speakers from the business and women’s sports worlds, and plan to collaborate on content and events throughout the upcoming season.

• Notre Dame also leveraged its longstanding partnership with NBC, earning the Shamrock Classic a network TV slot in the process, which will mark the first women’s college hoops game aired live on NBC.

Zooming out: Citi and NBC are somewhat new to the women’s sports space, so their commitment to the Shamrock Classic is very telling about the current and future opportunities that WBB presents. The same is true for Notre Dame, a school known more for football than WBB.

• The partnership allows Citi to stay on brand, too. The business and sports–themed luncheon serves as a seamless tie-in to its Progressing Gender Equity campaign.