BBVA Compass bowl delivers record turnout and economic impact

January 11, 2013
BBVA COMPASS BOWL DELIVERS RECORD TURNOUT AND ECONOMIC IMPACT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The 2013 BBVA Compass Bowl game and festivities produced the largest
economic impact and turnout in the seven-year history of the bowl.
More than 59,000 fans packed into Legion Field Jan. 5 to watch the Pitt Panthers take on the Ole Miss
Rebels while more than 2.7 million viewers watched the ESPN telecast. Only the 2011 BBVA Compass
Bowl had a larger television audience. The Rebels defeated the Panthers, 38-17.
“We were pleased with the tremendous turnout at Legion Field on Saturday,” said Mark Meadows, BBVA
Compass Bowl executive director. “It was a great week for the City of Birmingham as our hotels and
restaurants were full of Pitt and Ole Miss fans who came to Birmingham to be a part of this event.”
The game, along with the bowl week activities, generated an economic impact of $21.4 million, according
to figures provided by the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“We’re always looking for meaningful ways to contribute to each of the communities where we do
business, and the BBVA Compass Bowl allows us to support our headquarters town through a fun,
family-friendly local event, played at a historic location in the football capital of the South,” said John
Wessman, BBVA Compass chief marketing officer.
Over the past seven years, the bowl has generated more than $80 million in economic impact for
Birmingham while contributing $175,000 to the Crippled Children’s Foundation through its partnership
with the Monday Morning Quarterback Club.
About BBVA Compass
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 709 branches, including 368 in Texas, 93 in
Alabama, 79 in Arizona, 65 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 21 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks
among the top 20 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks
in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading Small
Business Administration lenders and ranked third in American Banker’s 2012 reputation study of the leading 30 banks
in the U.S. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com.
ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces
more than 1,200 sporting events. Content includes action from NCAA football, basketball and Olympic sports, NHRA
and professional and amateur golf, accounting for more than 3,400 live and/or original hours of programming. ERT’s
owned and operated events reach over a million fans a year and provides more than 200 additional hours of
programming.

In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU; syndication rights-holder and
producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American,
WAC) and manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events:
Collegiate Football
BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
(Dallas-Fort Worth); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); MEAC/SWAC Challenge
presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (Houston); Texas Kickoff Classic (Houston);
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu) and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards
Collegiate Basketball
Sears Armed Forces Classic (Ramstein Air Base, Germany); Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant (S.C.);
DIRECTV Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Classic presented
by Corona Extra (Madison Square Garden); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto
Rico Tip-Off (Bayamón); BracketBusters and State Farm Champions Classic (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)
For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.
-30-
Rachel Margolis, ESPN at 860-766-2798 or Rachel.L.Margolis@espn.com; Ralph Evans, BBVA Compass at 205-
297-3038 or Ralph.evans@bbvacompass.com; Norm Reilly, BBVA Compass Bowl Media Relations Director, 205-
936-1793 or nreilly@uab.edu
Editor's Note:
BBVA Compass is a trade name of Compass Bank.