AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Athletics and corporate partner Sandri Energy will enter a more comprehensive, extensive relationship for the next five years as announced today by UMass Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford and Sandri CEO Tim Van Epps.

Greenfield, Mass.-based Sandri Energy escalates its integration with UMass in a new partnership agreement starting this fall. At the centerpiece of the relationship, Sandri adopts the designation as “Official HVAC, Gasoline, Home Fuel and Convenience Store Partner for UMass Athletics”. This marks the first time the Minutemen have recognized a partner in these distinct categories. Sandri will work closely on all aspects of the expanded partnership with Learfield’s UMass Sports Properties, the multimedia rights holder for the Minutemen.

As an overall complement to its larger involvement with UMass Athletics, Sandri-owned Crumpin-Fox Club also will keep its affiliation with the Minutemen. The Club will continue aligning with UMass as its “Official Golf Partner”. Crumpin-Fox will have rights to use UMass marks and logos, will receive significant exposure on the UMass Sports Network during football, hockey and men’s basketball seasons and digital visibility all year via the official athletics website, UMassAthletics.com. Crumpin-Fox will also sponsor several in-game promotions for football, hockey and men’s basketball home games. The course will serve as host to the vast majority of UMass Athletics golf tournaments throughout the year as well as offer discounts to UMass students, alumni, season ticket holders, faculty and staff through the partnership.

“We’re grateful for Sandri’s ongoing commitment to the Minutemen and look forward to working with them on a more significant level to promote all the great things they do in our Western Mass community,” said Bamford. “We are proud of the many exciting things going on within UMass Athletics and appreciate our corporate partners amplifying our success with their support.”

Sandri will receive brand exposure provide innovative fan engagement opportunities through various UMass Athletics’ platforms such as digital, social media, in-venue activation, signage and radio. According to Van Epps, “We are pleased to heighten our support of the Minutemen and our own community, and we’re excited about the new and innovative ways the Sandri name will be affiliated with UMass in this new renewed term of working together.”

“We greatly appreciate our association with the UMass community and anticipate another exciting and mutually beneficial year as we take our partnership to the next level. It’s a lot of fun to see the UMass network at Crumpin-Fox continue to grow.” said John “Boo” Jackson, director of development for the award-winning, 18-hole Crumpin-Fox Club, which is located on Parmenter Road in Bernardston.

The Sandri Companies (www.sandri.com) are a third-generation family-owned group of businesses whose holdings include A.R. Sandri, Inc., Sandri Energy, LLC, Sandri Realty, Fox Hopyard Golf Club and Crumpin-Fox Club. The corporate headquarters is located Greenfield, Massachusetts with regional operations throughout New England and upstate New York. Sandri’s primary business operation is wholesale and retail motor fuels distribution, and the company is the largest Sunoco branded fuel distributor in New England. They deliver to 110 retail outlets including 16 of their own Sandri branded convenience stores. Sandri provides a variety of home heating fuels including: fuel oils, propane, and wood pellets to thousands of customers throughout Franklin and Hampshire counties of Massachusetts, as well as southern Vermont and New Hampshire.

An industry leader for more than four decades, Learfield has a deep presence in the college athletics landscape nationwide. In addition to UMass, it manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for nearly 130 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas, and supports athletic departments at all competitive levels as title sponsor of the prestigious Learfield Directors’ Cup. Learfield also provides its collegiate partners access to professional concessions and ticket sales; branding, licensing and trademark consulting; digital and social platform expertise; campus wide business and sponsorship development; and venue and technology systems through its affiliated companies.