When the Dallas Cowboys move their headquarters from Valley Ranch to Frisco next month, dairy farmers can boast a special connection. Though a relationship between Dairy MAX and “America’s Team” is nothing new (the partnership has been going strong since the inception of Fuel Up to Play 60), it is expanding this year in a big way.
Jennie McDowell, Dairy MAX’s director of industry marketing, says not only is Dairy MAX the official nutrition partner of the Dallas Cowboys, but dairy will have a strong presence in The Star, the new home base and practice facility for “America’s Team.” The 91-acre campus will be unlike any other in professional sports, most notably due to its accessibility.
“If you go to any football headquarters today, anywhere in the country, they are behind the guard gate,” McDowell says. “The first thing you'll run into is a guard. You have to tell them what your business is there. And if you don't have business there they send you on your way.
“But The Star is an opportunity for fans to really come in for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be a Dallas Cowboy. To see where those players work out, where they eat, where they hang out, where they study film. Fans are invited in to see all of those things they do to hone their craft, and possibly even see them doing it.”
McDowell says the Fuel Up Dallas Cowboys Training Table is of particular importance to Dairy MAX and is where they’ll focus their activities.
“That's where everyone eats — from staff, from the guys in the mail room, to the players — that's where they'll have their meals,” she says.
The space, which seats about 300 people, is especially important because it’s an opportunity to educate beyond the promotional billboards and brand awareness pieces found throughout the entire facility. It’s a place where fans can dig deeper and learn more.
“We'll be an integral part of that tour stop,” McDowell says. “And that particular space is a huge part of the facility as it connects the team operations to the business operations to the public spaces.”
It’s the perfect opportunity for consumers to hear about dairy in a positive way — how it's important to the team's performance and how they use it as part of their good nutrition and their training diet.
Even better? The Dallas Cowboys organization relishes the opportunity to join forces and feel the partnership is the perfect match, says Charlotte Jones-Anderson, executive vice president and chief brand officer for the Dallas Cowboys.
“Health and wellness is a key pillar and initiative for the Dallas Cowboys,” she says, “and with our innovative partnership with Dairy MAX at The Star, the reach of the Fuel Up to Play 60 program will provide vast opportunities and resources for youth in our communities to become healthier, higher achieving students.”
