Aflac’s March Mad Support Of Women’s Sports Enhanced By Staley, Coach K
Friday, March 3, 2023 at 08:05PM By Barry Janoff
March 3, 2023: Aflac, an official NCAA Corporate Partner, is heading into March Madness with a full roster, placing iconic college head basketball coaches Dawn Staley and Mike Krzyzewski as the focus of its multi-platform "Aflac Duck vs. Gap Goat" campaign.
In conjunction with the campaign, Aflac has launched "Dawn's List," which “addresses some of the equity issues in women's college basketball.
Dawn's List was created by Aflac, in collaboration with the Women's Basketball Coaches Assn. and Staley.
The health insurance firm said it would be “allocating a larger portion of its on-site activation and advertising budget specifically to focus on women's basketball.”
Aflac March Madness effort builds on its college football spots starring coaches Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders and Nick Saban “to show fans how Aflac can help hardworking Americans cover unexpected medical bills.”
New spots with Staley, head coach for defending NCAA women’s champion South Carolina, and former Duke head coach and five-time NCAA men’s champion Krzyzewski will air across TV — including official March Madness broadcast partners ESPN, ABC, CBS and Turner Sports networks — as well as digital and social media.
The NCAA and ESPN previously said that the 2023 Div. I Women’s Basketball Championship game would be broadcast for the first time live on ABC.
The game is scheduled for April 2 (3 PM ET) in American Airlines Center, Dallas.
The entire Women's Tournament except for the title game will air on ESPN platforms, including the 2023 Women’s Final Four semi-final games on ESPN on March 31 (7 PM and 9:30 PM ET).
“Scheduling the Div. I Women’s Basketball Championship on ABC has been a goal for quite some time in our ongoing efforts to maximize the exposure of women’s sports in collaboration with the NCAA,” Burke Magnus, ESPN president, programming and original content, said via the network when the decision was made.
“Women’s NCAA Championships continue to generate strong audiences across the ABC/ESPN networks and this move represents yet another unique opportunity to showcase this marquee event and the student-athletes who are competing for a national championship.”
Aflac will have a presence at the Women's Final Four in Dallas, at Tourney Town via “Help Beat the Gap" activation in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. 
In addition, Aflac said it would help raise awareness for the next generation of assistant coaches through sponsorship of the WBCA and the "Assistant Coaches of the Year" award in all six of the Association's membership divisions.
"At Aflac, we work with amazing people who set the standards in their respective careers, because Aflac itself is a leader in our industry as well,” Garth Knutson, Aflac CMO, said via the company.
“These two coaches share our values and purpose, so adding coach Staley and Coach K to our lineup of G.O.A.T.s will help elevate awareness around how we're helping close the gap for our customers and community.”
Regarding Dawn's List, according to Knutson, “Our work with coach Staley builds upon the commitment we made in December to redistribute and increase funding to showcase the amazing talent at the women's tournament. Our goal is to help close that gap for women athletes and to drive impact for players and fans."
One anchor spot, “Poolside With Coaches K and Staley,” finds the pair relaxing along with the Aflac Duck, with Coach K telling Staley, “You know, I could really get used to this retirement thing.”
A guy who is bringing them refreshments has one arm in a sling and is given a medical bill by the Aflac Goat, who bleats, “Gaaaaaaaap.”’
"A thousand dollar hospital bill?” he says. “But I have good health insurance.”
“That’s the gap health insurance doesn’t cover,” explains Coach K. Offers Staley, “But with Aflac you can get money to help close that gap.”
"Birdwatching" finds Staley and Coach K on the wilderness trail — "Who needs championships when you can look at birds," observes Coach K — when The Duck and The Goat get into a heated debate over medical bills.
The theme is reinforced in “Aflac’s Insurance Menu” and “Aflac Knows Insurance Like Coach K Knows Basketball.”
More spots will follow during the Tournament.
Among the issues Dawn's List addresses:
• Investment equity: “There needs to be continued improvements involving the recognition of players and coaches in the women's tournament. As an NCAA corporate partner, Aflac plans to bring more awareness around outstanding coaching and player achievements.”
• Fan experience: “College basketball fans deserve a thrilling and vibrant tournament atmosphere. Aflac is working to enhance the fan experience in women's basketball.”
• Community engagement: “Aflac, coach Staley and the WBCA are passionate about helping young women become role models and pillars in their communities. As such, they are working together to provide more opportunities to enable community engagement.”
"The gaps identified for Dawn's List represent real issues faced by female athletes on a daily basis that extend beyond the basketball court," Staley said via Aflac.
"I'm proud to team up with Aflac, a company with a long-standing history of advocating for those who encounter health care inequities, as we work together to help close these gaps for female athletes."
NCAA March Madness partners include Corporate Champions AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola; and Corporate Partners Aflac, Buffalo Wild Wings, Buick, Great Clips, Invesco, LG, Marriott Bonvoy, Nabisco, Nissan, Pizza Hut, Reese’s, Unilever and Wendy’s.
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