Ripple has signed a multi-year partnership with the University of Louisville athletics department and decided to keep the XRP logo permanently visible on the university’s basketball home court.

On Sept. 16 (local time), blockchain media outlet Coinpost reported that XRP branding will be applied in earnest to University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball games starting this season.

Under the contract, the XRP logo will be permanently posted on Denny Crum Court, the university’s home arena court. The logo will be used at all home games for the men’s and women’s teams. It will also be reflected in courtside screens and other on-site branding inside the KFC Yum! Center.

The exposure is not limited to the offline arena. The XRP brand will be included in the university’s official digital channels, social media and radio broadcasts for men’s and women’s basketball. Through the deal, Ripple has set up a structure aimed at expanding contact with college sports fans while increasing awareness of XRP.

The partnership also includes educational support. Ripple will support financial and technology education programs that cover both traditional finance and digital assets for student-athletes and the campus community. A feature is that it goes beyond a simple sports sponsorship by linking to educational programs on campus.

The contract with Louisville also ties in with Ripple’s broader expansion of partnerships in U.S. college sports. Before announcing its cooperation with Louisville on Sept. 15, Ripple on Sept. 4 also signed a multi-year contract with the University of Florida athletics department. In July, it also disclosed a sponsorship deal with the University of Kansas athletics department.

The move is linked to changes in the U.S. college sports advertising environment. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) allowed corporate advertisements to be posted in college facilities in 2024. Since then, corporate branding opportunities using college sports venues have expanded, and Ripple is also continuously increasing university-level partnerships within this framework.

Running Field sports property president Damron Kim (김 담론), whose company handles sports rights business, said it would seek to build XRP’s presence in the college sports market through the partnership with Louisville. The core of the Louisville deal is the “partnership between Louisville and XRP” and the “permanent posting of the XRP logo on the court.” With digital exposure inside and outside the arena, audio broadcasts and support for education programs combined, the scope has widened beyond simple logo sponsorship.

The deal therefore shows Ripple’s move to use college sports as a long-term brand channel. With partner schools expanding to Louisville following Florida and Kansas, attention is focused on whether XRP branding will continue to expand in the U.S. college sports market.