Aquinas College has recently agreed to a marketing sponsorship with the Grand Rapids Gold that will begin during the upcoming 2021-22 NBA G League season. The Gold are a new NBA G League team and an affiliate of the NBA's Denver Nuggets; the Gold replace the former Grand Rapids Drive, as the Drive was renamed the Motor City Cruise and are based in Detroit as a Pistons affiliate.
As an official sponsor with the Gold, Aquinas will be featured on in-game signage and through video and promotional giveaways. Aquinas will also be integrated across the Gold's digital platforms and social media channels, helping to promote the College to a broad audience in West Michigan.
"The Grand Rapids Gold's introduction to West Michigan this season provides a unique opportunity to support a new organization in our community as well as share Aquinas College's educational mission with fans from the region and beyond," said Marissa Sura, associate vice president for marketing and communication at Aquinas.
The Gold was introduced over the summer as the new Grand Rapids G League team and will be affiliated with the Denver Nuggets, which did not yet have a G League affiliate. Grand Rapids has routinely been ranked in the top-five in the G League in total attendance, averaging more than 3,000 fans per game and nearly 4,000 fans per weekend home games.
"Our team is thrilled to welcome Aquinas College as an Official Sponsor of the Grand Rapids Gold," shared Kyle Kwaske, director of sales for the Grand Rapids Gold. "We appreciate their support as we look to elevate the basketball experience in Grand Rapids, and we're eager to welcome their students, faculty, and staff to the DeltaPlex this season."
The Gold will play a 48-game schedule in 2021-22 from November to April, including 24 home games at the DeltaPlex Arena. Grand Rapids kicks off the season on Nov. 11 in South Dakota against the Sioux Falls Skyforce, while the 2021-22 home opener is scheduled for Nov. 23 against the Motor City Cruise.
Recently announced as head coach of the Gold is Jason Terry, a 19-year NBA veteran who won the 2011 NBA Championship with the Dallas Mavericks and has made the seventh-most three-pointers in NBA history. The Gold used their first round draft pick on NBA veteran Lance Stephenson and the roster also features former Michigan standout Nik Stauskas and Denver Nuggets two-way players Markus Howard and Petr Cornelie.
"We're really excited to begin this new relationship with the Gold," noted
DJ Foster, director of external relations and athletic communications. "This is a great time to team up with their organization. It will give Aquinas the opportunity to show a brand new audience all that our campus has to offer in a way we hadn't done before."
This is the seventh season in Grand Rapids for the organization, which began as the Grand Rapids Drive in 2014. The G League now features 29 teams, with 28 of those teams having direct affiliations with NBA franchises. Prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, 45% of all NBA players had some sort of G League experience.
