Regions Bank will sponsor the AP Top 25 football poll, the longest-running poll of its kind at 86 years, as well as AP’s marquee college football honors and weekly game picks for the 2022 season.
This is the third season that Regions has sponsored these traditions.
AP is set to release the preseason AP Top 25 poll on Monday, Aug. 15. The preseason AP All-America team, an extension of the longest-running honor roll of the nation’s top players, will be released a week later on Monday, Aug. 22.
The first regular-season poll will be released on Tuesday, Sept. 6. The other regular-season polls will be released each Sunday until the end of the regular season, with the season’s final poll moving hours after the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 9.
The preseason poll and preseason All-America team will be announced on AP lines at 12 p.m. ET and posted on the AP’s college football poll page, the AP News app and at @AP_Top25 on Twitter. AP will also provide analysis and additional details across the AP News platform.
Besides the AP Top 25 poll, Regions Bank will sponsor AP’s full suite of postseason awards, including the AP All-America team, the AP Coach of the Year, and AP Player of the Year. The honors will be announced in December, after the regular season ends.
“The AP Top 25 polls, All-America teams and other honors are ingrained in the college football history and talked about each season by fans, other media and the programs themselves,” said Barry Bedlan, AP’s global director of text, data and new markets products. “Regions recognizes the significance of these AP traditions, and we’re excited to continue working with them.”
An expert panel of sports writers and broadcasters from AP-affiliated media around the country decide the AP Top 25, an ongoing tradition since 1936, and name the preseason All-America players for each position to first and second teams. The first AP All-America team was selected in 1925, a decade before the first Heisman Trophy.
Regions Bank in 2019 became the first sponsor in the AP Top 25 poll’s long and storied history. It will also present AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo’s weekly game picks, which are released each Wednesday, and AP’s weekly Top 25 podcast also hosted by Russo.
“Regions has been a sponsor of collegiate athletics for more than 25 years,” said Abbas Merchant, Regions chief marketing officer. “As the Official Bank of the Southeastern Conference, we know how college sports help unite our communities through historic rivalries, the excitement of gameday and all the traditions at each school. We’re proud to do our part to support the students, student-athletes and everyone who loves college football by continuing to bring the AP Top 25 to fans everywhere.”
The sponsorship was secured in collaboration with Undertone, a leader in cross-platform synchronized digital branding for the world’s most prominent brands. Undertone will provide additional distribution of the branded sponsorship through its digital ad formats across hundreds of quality publisher sites and apps.
“We are honored to continue our relationship with Regions and The Associated Press and look forward to a thrilling 2022 football season,” said Dan Aks, president at Undertone. “Our collaboration marks the start of an exciting preseason and sponsorship. With football being one of the most popular sports to display content for brands, the poll will highlight top teams to watch throughout the season.”
More than 60 sports writers and broadcasters votes weekly throughout each season to decide the AP Top 25. All voters have an extensive background in covering college football. The poll is determined by a simple points system based on how each voter ranks college football’s best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first place vote, 24 for second place and so on through to the 25th team, which receives one point. The rankings are set by listing the teams’ point totals from highest to lowest. The mathematical formula is the same as the one used for the AP Top 25 rankings for college men’s and women’s basketball.
Follow the poll and related sports coverage on Facebook and Twitter.
