Bison Sign Helmet Sticker Deal With Applied Digital - Fargo - InForum

Helmet stickers arrived in a pleasant overnight express delivery package this weekend in Hawaii, carrying an apparent hefty revenue stream for the North Dakota State football program.

The athletic department and Learfield’s Bison Sports Properties announced a partnership on Friday with Applied Digital for a helmet bumper sponsorship. The Bison will wear these stickers tonight when they play at the University of Hawaii.

NDSU is now out of room for uniform and helmet sponsorship opportunities as allowed by the NCAA. The Bison and Gate City Bank signed an agreement for a uniform patch in July.

Not many football programs to date have signed sponsorship deals for both a patch and a helmet sticker. NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen mentioned that he knew of several institutions that had secured agreements for both helmet stickers and jersey patches, pointing out that the University of Utah was among the pioneers.

Bison Sign Helmet Sticker Deal With Applied Digital - Fargo - InForum

“It was always about finding the right partners and never about doing it just to do it,” Larsen said. “We think there’s great value in the real estate of both of those pieces and not just wanting to give it away either.”

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although Larsen said that the company is making a really good commitment.

The Applied Digital mark will sit on the back bumper of every Bison helmet, according to a press release from NDSU. This provides the company with prominent exposure on the playing field, within broadcast footage, and throughout game images shared across social, digital, and print media platforms.

Furthermore, the collaboration reaches inside the Scheels Center, where the Applied Digital logo will be featured on the playing surface during every home game for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Applied Digital is a technology-based operation headquartered in Dallas that designs, builds, and operates data center campuses. The company runs the Polaris Forge 2 AI data center just north of Fargo in Harwood.

Larsen mentioned that the two parties first met earlier this fall.

“I think it was a really quick alignment and they’re wanting to have a presence in North Dakota,” Larsen said. “I think they saw value in the Bison … and I think it was really about alignment and philosophy and just felt really good about all the conversations as they progressed through the fall.”