YNHH enters sports-sponsorship deal with WNBA club

Photo | Contributed A Connecticut Sun jersey donning the Yale New Haven Health emblem.

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By MICHAEL C. BINGHAM

Yale New Haven Health will make a major foray into the sports marketing arena when the state’s largest health system becomes the “Official Medical Provider” of the Connecticut Sun WNBA franchise.

The marketing deal, announced Wednesday, includes the Yale New Haven Health logo prominently displayed on the basketball club’s home and away jerseys throughout the 2019 WNBA season.

The Sun’s new jerseys will be featured on ESPN2’s coverage of the WNBA draft, scheduled to air on the cable sports network at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

”We are proud to partner with the Connecticut Sun to advance and promote women’s sports in Connecticut and throughout the country,” said YNHH CEO Marna P. Borgstrom in a statement.

Financial terms of the one-year marketing pact were not disclosed.

Beyond marketing, YNHH and the Sun will collaborate on a number of initiatives to directly benefit the local community, from youth basketball clinics to supporting established WNBA beneficiaries such as Breast Health Awareness. The partnership also includes comprehensive care for Sun players throughout the season.

YNNH provides integrated care in more than 100 specialties at five hospitals statewide. It is also the second-largest employer in Connecticut, with more than 25,000 employees.

The Sun’s season includes 17 home games at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. The team will open the 2019 WNBA season on May 25 against the Washington Mystics.

A ubiquitous feature of sports uniforms in Europe, especially among professional soccer clubs, commercial logos on uniforms have been slow to catch on in the United States beyond shoe-company trade symbols such as Nike’s swoosh. But the tide has turned in recent years, and even tradition-bound sports franchises are finding it increasingly difficult to resist the lure.

Contact Michael Bingham at mbingham@newhavenbiz.com