LEXINGTON, Ky. — Two of Kentucky’s most recognizable names are joining forces as UK Athletics and Heaven Hill Brands announced a multiyear partnership that will bring the company’s Elijah Craig and Evan Williams bourbon brands into University of Kentucky athletic venues and introduce limited-edition, co-branded bottles for Wildcat fans.
Under the agreement announced Thursday, Elijah Craig becomes the Official Small Batch Bourbon Partner of the Kentucky Wildcats, while Evan Williams becomes the Official Bourbon Partner of the Kentucky Wildcats.
The partnership will include naming rights for premium hospitality areas at Kroger Field and Rupp Arena, branded experiences at UK athletic facilities and a series of special bourbon releases tied to the Wildcats.
“When you think of Kentucky, one of the first things you think about is the Wildcats. Another is bourbon,” said J Batt, UK athletics director and CEO of Champions Blue LLC. “Bourbon is foundational to the uniqueness of Kentucky’s culture and economy, and we are proud to welcome Elijah Craig and Evan Williams into the Kentucky Athletics family.”
The agreement represents a significant marketing partnership between UK Athletics and Heaven Hill, one of Kentucky’s largest and best-known spirits companies.
Bardstown-based Heaven Hill was founded in 1935 and remains an independent, family-owned and operated spirits company. Its portfolio includes several major American whiskey brands, including Elijah Craig and Evan Williams.
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics
Elijah Craig takes over premium hospitality spaces
One of the most visible components of the partnership will be the transformation of premium hospitality areas at two of UK’s highest-profile athletic venues.
The Mezzanine Club at Kroger Field will become the Elijah Craig Club, while the Bourbon Club at Rupp Arena will be renamed the Elijah Craig Speakeasy.
UK Athletics said both spaces will be redesigned as immersive Elijah Craig destinations with design elements inspired by Kentucky bourbon and the brand’s heritage.
The arrangement gives Heaven Hill prominent exposure at the home of Kentucky football and inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, one of the most recognizable venues in college basketball.
Evan Williams also will have a significant presence through the brand’s Bourbon Nation program.
The brand plans to participate in tailgates, fan zones and other game-day activities, extending the partnership beyond premium hospitality areas and into events geared toward the broader UK fan base.
Heaven Hill’s Elijah Craig and Evan Williams brands also will be featured across hospitality spaces at Kroger Field, Rupp Arena, Historic Memorial Coliseum and Kentucky Proud Park.
“Elijah Craig and Evan Williams represent two sides of what makes bourbon culture great, the craftsmanship that commands respect and the spirit that brings people together,” said Matt Blevins, chief marketing officer at Heaven Hill. “That’s exactly what UK Athletics means to this state too.”
Special UK bourbon bottles planned
The partnership also will move from UK’s athletic facilities to Kentucky bourbon shelves.
Heaven Hill and UK Athletics plan to introduce a series of limited-edition, co-branded Elijah Craig and Evan Williams bottles celebrating the relationship between the university and the Kentucky bourbon producer.
Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience.
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics
The first release will be an Elijah Craig barrel personally selected by Batt. Batt traveled to Bardstown to select the barrel ahead of his first football season as UK’s athletics director.
The resulting bottles will feature UK-related branding and are intended to give Kentucky fans and bourbon collectors a product specifically associated with the Wildcats.
Additional details about availability, pricing and the release schedule for the bottles were not immediately announced. The collectible bottle program adds another dimension to a partnership connecting two powerful consumer brands with deep ties to Kentucky.
Bourbon has become an increasingly important component of Kentucky’s tourism and economic-development industries, while UK Athletics commands one of the largest and most recognizable fan bases in college sports.
“This partnership creates exciting new opportunities to enhance the fan experience, celebrate our shared Kentucky heritage, and support the future of UK Athletics,” Batt said.
The agreement was developed by JMI Sports, UK Athletics’ multimedia rights partner, which operates locally as UK Sports and Campus Marketing.
JMI Sports connected Heaven Hill with UK Athletics and led development of the partnership, including the naming-rights agreements, licensing and trademark approvals, pouring rights and multimedia marketing programs.
Financial terms of the multiyear agreement were not disclosed. The partnership arrives as UK Athletics begins a new era under Batt, who was named athletics director this year.
For Heaven Hill, the deal provides extensive exposure for two of its flagship bourbon brands among Kentucky sports fans while tying the products more closely to the state’s flagship university.
For UK Athletics, the agreement further monetizes its facilities, hospitality spaces and brand while creating new experiences for fans and corporate partners.
The result is a distinctly Kentucky combination — college sports and bourbon — that will be visible at football games, basketball games, tailgates and eventually on bourbon shelves across the commonwealth.
ABOUT HEAVEN HILL BRANDS
Founded in 1935, Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Brands (www.heavenhill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and -led spirits company, as well as the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon and the third-largest supplier of Tequila. Heaven Hill has been named a Best Managed Company from 2024-2026 by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes the Heaven Hill Whiskey family of brands, Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Widow Jane, Larceny, Old Fitzgerald, and Henry McKenna Bourbons; Rittenhouse Rye Whisky; Deep Eddy Vodka; Admiral Nelson’s Rum; Black Velvet Canadian Whisky; Lunazul and Ocho Tequila; HPNOTIQ Liqueur; and Carolans Irish Cream Liqueur.
ABOUT UK ATHLETICS
UK Athletics is a leader in college sports, sponsoring 23 varsity sports teams (12 women’s teams, 10 men’s teams, plus the coed rifle team) and hundreds of student-athletes, competing for championships, ensuring their education and well-being, and providing opportunities for the present and future. With the leadership of Athletics Director/CEO J Batt, UK Athletics operates as Champions Blue, LLC. The non-profit holding company, a first of its kind in college athletics, is designed to provide the department with the flexibility to unlock new revenue streams through public-private partnerships and potentially other transactions, such as real estate.
ABOUT JMI SPORTS
JMI Sports is a leading media rights and venue development company that provides management of collegiate multimedia rights, sponsorship sales agency representation, and project management expertise for the development of collegiate and professional sports facilities. The company serves to maximize each client’s economic potential through customized initiatives, from marketing and branding solutions to facility design strategies.
JMI Sports’ signature collegiate multimedia rights partnerships include the University of Kentucky, UCLA, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University, Columbia University, San Diego State University, University of California at San Diego, University of San Diego, and joint-venture properties at the University of Georgia (with Learfield), University of Notre Dame (with Legends), and Northwestern University (with Legends). JMI Sports also represents multimedia rights for several conferences, including the Ivy League, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Patriot League, and the Atlantic 10, and serves as third-party sales representation for premier sports properties, venues, and events including Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, the Rose Bowl, the Penn Relays, and USA Volleyball.
JMI Sports was founded in 2006 by CEO Erik Judson and technology entrepreneur John Moores, former owner of the San Diego Padres. To learn more, please visit www.jmisports.com.
