Aztecs Connect With Pacific Bell for 2000-01 Seasons

Aug. 29, 2000

SAN DIEGO - As part of its commitment to intercollegiate athletics and San Diego, Pacific Bell has partnered with San Diego State University to become the preferred telecommunications sponsor of the SDSU Athletic Department.

"We feel honored to be in partnership with Pacific Bell," said Rick Bay, San Diego State's Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Special Assistant to the President. "They are a great company with extraordinary reach into the community, which only enhances our ability to spread the word about Aztec Athletics."

The partnership includes elements that benefit Student Athlete scholarships at San Diego State University and the Aztec Athletic Foundation.

"Pacific Bell is pleased to team up with Aztecs," said Dave Nichols, Pacific Bell regional president in San Diego. "We've grown with SDSU over our more than 100 year history in San Diego and we're proud to support a program on the rise.

"We need more corporations to step up and support the future of Division I athletics in our community. We owe it to the alumni, athletes and the university," Nichols said.

Through the partnership with SDSU, Pacific Bell, Pacific Bell Wireless, Pacific Bell Directory and their parent company SBC Communications, will receive signage and branding opportunities inside and around Aztec sports venues. In addition, Pacific Bell will sponsor the Aztec coaches shows on XTRA Sports 690.

In addition to the scholarship aid, Pacific Bell Wireless will provide the SDSU Athletic Department with the latest in Pure Digital PCS communication services. Pacific Bell Wireless will display PCS service and new rate plans to Aztec fans and students at games and other events.

The partnership with SDSU also provides football tickets for distribution to community based organizations in San Diego.

Pacific Bell has more than 6,000 employees in San Diego and is the third largest private employer in the county. SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is a global communications leader. Through its subsidiaries' trusted brands -- Pacific Bell, Southwestern Bell, Ameritech, Pacific Bell, SBC Telecom, Nevada Bell, SNET and Cellular One -- and world-class network, SBC's subsidiaries provide local and long-distance phone service, wireless and data communications, paging, high-speed Internet access and messaging, cable and satellite television, security services and telecommunications equipment, as well as directory advertising and publishing. In the United States, the company currently has 61.2 million access lines, 12.2 million wireless customers and is undertaking a national expansion program that will bring SBC service to an additional 30 markets. Internationally, SBC has telecommunications investments in more than 20 countries. With approximately 219,000 employees, SBC is the 13th-largest employer in the U.S., with annual revenues that rank it among the largest Fortune 500 companies.