In 2003 FS&E sold Aflac the sponsorship and created the activation program that resulted in the company’s most visible sponsorship. Together, FS&E and Aflac have grown the game into the nation’s top high school showcase for youth baseball, which is endorsed by Major League Baseball. In 2004, FS&E conceptualized and implemented the Aflac National Selection Tour, engaging prominent sponsors and MLB stars to widen the appeal of Aflac’s event. The tour traveled across the county honoring the elite prep players selected to participate in the game.
The inaugural game was played in Ft. Myers, Fla. and then moved to Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md. for two years, where Cal Ripken, Jr. served as the game’s Honorary Chairman. In 2006, San Diego hosted the Aflac Classic at SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium and the 2007 game was played on Saturday, August 11 with Ozzie Smith as the game’s Honorary Chairman. Other influential ambassadors for the Aflac Classic have included Hall of Famers Stan “The Man” Musial and Reggie Jackson and Major League Baseball executives Sandy Alderson and Jimmie Lee Solomon.
Most importantly, the 2007 Aflac All-American Baseball Classic raised a record $150,000 for San Diego’s Rady Children’s Hospital and Health Center and $20,000 for Coaches Curing Kids Cancer, the game’s official charity partners, as part of Aflac’s ongoing commitment to support research and treatment of pediatric cancer. In just five years, the game has raised $525,000 for charity.
Aflac National Selection Tour
Formula Sports & Entertainment Group created and manages the Aflac National Selection Tour, which was designed to generate exposure for the Aflac All-American Classic, players and pediatric cancer research. The selection tour, which just completed its fourth year, is a multi-city tour that travels to the hometowns of the nation’s top high school players to announce their official selection to the Aflac All-American Team. FS&E manages and produces the tour, which holds events at various Major League Baseball ballparks across the country featuring MLB stars including Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Chipper Jones, Alfonso Soriano and many others. FS&E has signed on and works closely with Topps, 2K Sports, Mizuno and adidas as strategic partners and has built activation elements specific to each brand around the property.