Rose Bowl Ends Corporate Holdout

The Rose Bowl holdout is over.

The New Year's Day college football classic will now be called The Rose Bowl Presented by AT&T, ending the city's longtime resistance to corporate sponsorship of the venerable face-off between the Pac-10 and Big Ten champions.

"We have Ma Bell joining the granddaddy of them all," Pasadena Tournament of Roses chairman Harriman Cronk said during a conference call today announcing the affiliation.

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Cronk said earlier, "It's the money."

In January, the Tournament of Roses announced it was negotiating to get a sponsor, insisting on second billing, on Jan. 1, 1999, when it joins the Bowl Championship Series, formerly the bowl alliance. ABC-TV will pay $19 million to televise the 1999 game.

Cronk said ABC was told the Rose Bowl wouldn't accept a title sponsor and The Rose Bowl name must come first. It was also made clear to ABC and AT&T that they didn't want signs cluttering up the inside of the bowl.

"We do not in any way, shape or form want to detract from the bowl itself," Cronk said.

AT&T logos won't be sewed onto player uniforms, either.

"It's a perfect fit. They both stand for quality and tradition," ABC Sports spokesman Brian McAndrews said.

During the telephone conference, it was also disclosed that tickets to the Rose Bowl game will rise from $75 to $110.

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