TransPerfect becomes title sponsor of the Music City Bowl

Mike Organ | Nashville Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption TransPerfect is the new title sponsor of the Music City Bowl. TransPerfect will replace Franklin American Mortgage as sponsor of the Music City Bowl.

TransPerfect is the new title sponsor of the Music City Bowl.

TransPerfect bills itself as the world’s largest provider of language and technology solutions for global businesses.

Franklin American Mortgage has served as the bowl's title sponsor since 2010. The name will remain the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl through Dec. 31.

The 22nd annual bowl will be played on Dec. 30 (3 p.m.) at Nissan Stadium between Louisville (7-5) and Mississippi State (6-6).

The agreement with TransPerfect is through 2025.

The title sponsorship coincides with the Music City Bowl's signing of a six-year agreement with the SEC and the Big Ten conferences.

The agreement was formally announced at a news conference in Nissan Stadium with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, SEC Executive Associate Commissioner Mark Womack, and Music City Bowl President and CEO Scott Ramsey.

"This is a top 10 bowl nationwide," TransPerfect president and CEO Phil Shawe said. "It has had 57,000 for an average draw over the last 10 years. The location of the bowl is strategically around our offices. We have 100 offices worldwide, but 20 of them are right in the middle of SEC and Big Ten country. We had our sales conference here in February, brought about 700 people here, and everyone fell in love with the city. And so having done that in February and having the management team fall in love with the city, it just seemed like the planets aligned for us to be the sponsor."

Shawe said he did not approach any other bowl's about possible sponsorship because he was convinced the Music City Bowl was the best fit for his company.

TransPerfect's global headquarters is in New York.

A new title sponsor was needed after Citizens Bank's acquisition of Franklin American Mortgage in 2018.

Music City Bowl president and CEO Scott Ramsey said he started searching for a new title sponsor at the beginning of this year and TransPerfect emerged as the leading candidate after the summer.

"We had a lot of interest from potential sponsors, but to go from interest to really a serious discussion is a big gap," Ramsey said. "TransPerfect reached out to us in the late summer, early fall. At first we had general discussions and then, boy, we really connected. I think they really liked the city, they liked what the city can represent with their clients and entertainment and their employees. Certainly our growth as a city was important because they have a lot of clients here. They like college football fans and they really like the branding aspect of the game and it just really esclated."

Ramsey said an agreement was reached between the bowl and TransPerfect in early Novemeber, about six weeks after the discussions began.

TransPerfect was founded in 1992 and has grown to become the world’s largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business. Its core business is focused on translation and localization of a wide range of content, from documents, marketing materials, and training courses to software, mobile apps, and websites, into multiple languages for international audiences.

Other title sponsors of the bowl have included American General Life & Accident (1998), HomePoint.com (1999), Gaylord Entertainment (2002–2003) and Gaylord Entertainment and Bridgestone (2004–2009).

"I think it's a real positive that an outside group invested in the city," Ramsey said. "Before we'd had local companies that really had helped it from a civic position, but now (TransPerfect) is doing it and seeing that it is really worth investing in Nashville so we're excited about that."

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Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.