USA Today Sports launched the 2021 Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll in conjunction with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). For more than 25 years, USA Today Sports has partnered with the NABC to produce a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams. The 2021 poll will be sponsored during the season by Ferris Mowers, a leading commercial and industrial turf care equipment provider, and part of the Briggs & Stratton family of brands.
The Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the men’s college basketball regular season. A panel of NABC-member Division I head coaches representing each of the 32 Division I conferences votes on the poll each week. The rankings will be published by USA Today Sports online on Mondays and in print on Tuesdays, reaching an audience of more than 60 million sports fans.
Additionally, as part of its entitlement sponsorship, Ferris Mowers will also receive the naming rights of the Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship Trophy, which will be presented to the Division I men’s basketball team that finishes first in the final poll of the season in April.
“The Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll is the most authentic measure in college basketball, with the DI coaches themselves ranking the top teams in the nation, and USA Today Sports has proudly managed to support the poll for decades,” said Chris Pirrone, general manager, USA Today Sports Media Group. “We are excited to have Ferris Mowers join as the entitlement sponsor of the Coaches Poll and the Coaches Trophy, and to create exciting events that bring the trophy to the best college basketball towns across America.”
“Each season, college basketball’s best teams are recognized through our weekly Coaches Poll and the presentation of the prestigious NABC National Championship Trophy,” said Craig Robinson, executive director, National Association of Basketball Coaches. “We are excited to partner with Ferris Mowers to amplify the poll and trophy, and in doing so, further celebrate the accomplishments of our game’s coaches and student-athletes.”
“College basketball has become such a phenomenon over the years and engages fans across the country of all ages and backgrounds and being a part of the Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll and NABC National Championship Trophy is an important opportunity for Ferris,” said Harold Redman, president of the Turf and Consumer Products Group at Briggs & Stratton. “Our distributors, dealers and customers can take pride knowing that the Ferris brand is associated with such a high-profile and exciting property.”