Fifth Third Named Official Bank of Kennesaw State Athletics

Fifth Third Bank has agreed to sponsor Kennesaw State University’s football program and fund improvements to the KSU Stadium and other athletics programs and facilities.

The bank said the sponsorship reflects its plans to grow in the metro and state.

Fifth Third Bank will become the “Official Bank of Kennesaw State Athletics” and will be granted naming rights to KSU Stadium.

The Cincinnati-based bank also will get sponsorship recognition at the KSU Convocation Center, generic Bailey Field and Stillwell Stadium, doctor advertising in game programs, anesthetist television and radio broadcasts and on KSUOwls.com. http://ksuowls.com/index.aspx

“Our sponsorship agreement with Fifth Third Bank will have a significant impact on not only the athletics department, but the entire Kennesaw State University family – our students, faculty, staff, alumni and fans,” KSU Director of Athletics Vaughn Williams said in a statement. “Fifth Third’s gift provides substantial support for starting a football program and will help transform the culture at Kennesaw State.”

Fifth Third Bank entered the Georgia market in 2008 with the acquisition of First Horizon Bank. It has 31 branches in Georgia, including 25 in metro Atlanta. Its metro Atlanta deposits total $712.4 million as of June 2012, making it the No. 18 bank here, according to FDIC’s annual deposit market share report.

The $122 billion asset bank has a total of 1,325 branches in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina.

Kennesaw State University is the third-largest university in Georgia, offering 80 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including doctorates in education, business, nursing, and international conflict management.