CELSIUS is stepping into one of college football's biggest stages with a category first.
The brand is now the first official energy drink sponsor of ESPN's College GameDay.
Under the new multiyear deal with Disney Advertising and ESPN, CELSIUS gains a presence across broadcasts, campuses, athletes, and fan experiences.
Bespoke Sports & Entertainment supports the experiential strategy and execution.
This includes the CELSIUS Combine at every College GameDay stop, CELSIUS Energy Stage, Fan Cam, and campus Run Clubs.
CELSIUS is also expanding its football talent roster with Kirk Herbstreit and four NIL athletes.
"College GameDay sits at the center of one of the most passionate fan communities in sports, making it a natural platform for CELSIUS," Giancarlo Morena, VP of partnerships and activations at CELSIUS, told DesignRush.
"We're bringing the energy to the full college football experience, from the momentum building across campus to the excitement of Saturday mornings and beyond.
We're giving students and fans more ways to move, participate and get in the game in a way that feels authentically CELSIUS," he added.
@celsiusofficial every man needs his best friend 🤝
♬ College Game Day - Atomica Music
The timing gives the brand access to a program that averaged nearly 3 million viewers across the 2025 regular season, its most-watched regular season ever.
CELSIUS uses the sponsorship to make its energy positioning part of the full Saturday routine.
The Combine Puts Fans Into GameDay Action
The sponsorship provides CELSIUS with several ways to appear before and during the broadcast.
The Energy Stage sits beside the main College GameDay stage, with DJs and brand partners appearing at select stops.
Its Fan Cam puts students and fans on camera as part of the show's live atmosphere.
CELSIUS Combine takes the strategy further.
Students, alumni, and local fans can compete in football-inspired challenges, including reaction tests and passing accuracy drills.
CELSIUS can demonstrate its energy product through participation, giving fans something to do with the brand before they watch the game.
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The strategy also extends to prominent football talent, as Herbstreit gives CELSIUS a recognizable voice.
Bryce Underwood, Dante Moore, Chris Henry Jr., and Cam Coleman also connect the brand with the next generation of college players.
The result is a sponsorship designed to make CELSIUS part of the college football routine across screens, campuses, and fan behavior.
GameDay Draws a Younger Crowd
College GameDay averaged 2.7 million viewers across the 2025 regular season, the show's most-watched regular season on record.
ESPN's newsroom also reports that viewership among people under 25 rose 35%.
The campaign also arrives while the CELSIUS brand itself is contracting.
CELSIUS retail sales fell 2% year over year in the 13 weeks ending June 28, 2026, and brand revenue dropped about 4% across the first half.
Alani Nu, which Celsius Holdings acquired in 2025, posted $732.4 million in first-half sales and now does the heavy lifting for the portfolio.
The Combine and the NIL roster are how CELSIUS tries to restart its own growth while Alani Nu covers the portfolio.
The new College GameDay deal extends these efforts across national media, live events, and football talent.
- Participation can make sponsorships memorable. Brands should give fans a role in activations to create stronger associations with the product.
- Athletes can extend brand partnerships. Marketers should pair major media properties with relevant talent to maintain visibility between live events.
- Campus programs can reinforce national campaigns. Brands should connect large sponsorships with local experiences to create repeated exposure.
The strongest opportunity for CELSIUS is connecting its national College GameDay presence with the campus relationships it has already established.
Our Take: Can CELSIUS Own the Energy Role?
CELSIUS is putting its largest sports investment behind a brand whose U.S. retail sales are falling.
We think it can own the energy role on GameDay, since no energy drink has ever held the slot before.
The Combine is the reason why, because it gives students a physical task that matches what the product claims to do.
@celsiusofficial heads, tails, or celsius? we know what we’re picking 😉 @TheRealBryceUnderwood @Chris Henry jr @Dante Moore ♬ original sound - CelsiusOfficial
What we think the deal can't do is fix the portfolio problem, because Alani Nu is the brand pulling Celsius Holdings forward right now.
Alani Nu reaches the same young consumers that CELSIUS is buying its way back toward, and it got there without a national broadcast deal.
The test worth watching now is whether Combine participants reach for CELSIUS at the cooler and not Alani Nu.
If CELSIUS can't win that choice on a campus it just paid to reach, the sponsorship stays an expensive awareness line item.
Fan-first activations need partners who can handle strategy, production, and live execution at once.
Brands building toward this can explore these top experiential marketing agencies in our directory.
