Jan. 19, 2001
ATLANTA - The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), along with Starter, Hot Tamales, Zours, and Mike and Ike candy brands of Just Born, Inc., have announced that they have teamed efforts with Akins Motorsports and driver Elton Sawyer for the 2001 season. Sawyer's Akins Motorsports Fords will carry 18 different paint schemes this season, 14 of which will feature individual CLC Consortium member universities and Starter.
Sawyer and his team will compete in 33 races from February 17th through November 10th, with 14 different universities featured throughout the course of the season. Each university will be represented according to the geographic location of the races. Additionally, Starter will be the primary sponsor of the #98 Ford Taurus nine times, eight races will feature Hot Tamales as the primary sponsor, and Zours and Mike and Ike will be featured during one race each. Sawyer has finished in the top 10 in the Busch Grand National standings the last four years.
"There are unique synergy's surrounding the passion that fans have for collegiate athletics and motorsports. We believe that this program has a chance to unite that spirit and translate into dynamic opportunities for the Universities, promotional partners, licensees and retailers," commented David Kirkpatrick, Director of Non-Apparel Marketing, The Collegiate Licensing Company.
A select group of vendors will be producing apparel, headwear, collectibles and novelties as part of the program. The product will be available in department stores, mass merchants, bookstores, and specialty shops.
The schedule of universities to be featured by Akins Motorsports and Elton Sawyer is as follows:
| Race Date | Race Location | University Featured | |
| 1. | 2/24/01 | Rockingham, NC | East Carolina University |
| 2. | 3/10/01 | Atlanta, GA | University of Georgia |
| 3. | 3/24/01 | Bristol, TN | The University of Tennessee |
| 4. | 4/21/01 | Talladega, AL | Auburn University |
| 5. | 5/12/01 | Louden, NH | University of Connecticut |
| 6. | 5/26/01 | Charlotte, NC | University of North Carolina |
| 7. | 7/1/01 | Milwaukee, WI | University of Wisconsin |
| 8. | 7/21/01 | Madison, IL | University of Illinois |
| 9. | 7/28/01 | Pikes Peak, CO | University of Nebraska |
| 10. | 8/4/01 | Indianapolis, IN | Purdue University |
| 11. | 8/18/01 | Brooklyn, MI | The University of Michigan |
| 12. | 9/29/01 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas State University |
| 13. | 10/6/01 | Charlotte, NC | North Carolina State University |
| 14. | 11/10/01 | Homestead, FL | University of Miami |
The Collegiate Licensing Company is the oldest and largest licensing representative in the nation. CLC's members include more than 180 colleges, universities, bowl games, athletic conferences, the Heisman trophy, and the NCAA (including the Men's and Women's Final Four, the College World Series, and all NCAA Championships). Based in Atlanta, CLC is a full-service licensing representative, which employs a staff of more than 60 licensing professionals with the capability to establish and manage every aspect of a collegiate licensing program.