Modelo® and the NCAA®: Building the Next Generation of Cultural Partnerships

Part of building brands people love is finding opportunities to connect our brands with the passions, communities, and experiences that matter most to consumers. Sports are one of the most powerful places to do that.

That approach is at the heart of Modelo, the No. 1 beer brand in the U.S. by dollar sales,¹ becoming the first-ever Official Beer of the NCAA®, a year-round partnership spanning more than 90 men’s and women’s championships and anchored by March Madness®. The partnership reflects a broader strategy to translate consumer insights into opportunities for our brands to participate in cultural conversations in meaningful and relevant ways.

But the opportunity goes beyond simply showing up as a sponsor. We asked Mallika Monteiro, Constellation Brands’ Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Beer Brands, what it takes to earn a meaningful role in culture and how the NCAA® partnership can bring Modelo even closer to sports fans and the moments that matter to them. 

Q: What inspired Modelo to become the Official Beer of the NCAA®?
A: It starts with the consumer, and for Modelo, this opportunity was a natural evolution of what we’ve already built. We’re constantly looking at where people are spending their time, what they’re passionate about, and how we can authentically connect our brands to those experiences.

Few spaces bring together the level of passion, tradition, and community you see in college sports, and Modelo has been investing in that space for years. We’ve built strong connections with fans through our partnerships and presence across college athletics, so when the opportunity came to expand that commitment through the NCAA®, it was a clear next step for the brand. 

Q: What makes college sports such an important cultural space for Modelo?
A: College sports are about much more than the game. There are traditions, rivalries, and communities that people carry with them for years – there’s no one more passionate than college sports fans. 

That sense of community is a perfect fit for Modelo, and it’s a space where we’ve been building a strong presence. We are entering our sixth year as the Official Beer Sponsor of the CFP, have expanded our roster of NCAA® partner schools to 28, and increased college football media investment 18% year over year this season through high-profile media partnerships.

The NCAA® partnership allows us to build on that foundation and take the connection even further.

Q: March Madness® will be at the center of this partnership. Why is the tournament so compelling?
A: March Madness® is one of the biggest occasions on the sports calendar, bringing people together around brackets, watch parties, and traditions that extend well beyond the games themselves.

And that shared experience plays out on a massive scale. The 2026 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship averaged 10.9 million viewers across networks, up 7% from 2025 and making it the second-most-watched tournament since 1994. The men’s national championship game averaged 18.3 million viewers, the most since 2019, and peaked at 20.4 million.

That combination of reach, passion, and occasion is what makes March Madness® such a powerful cultural moment for both casual and die-hard fans. It’s also why we’re increasing Modelo’s college basketball investment by 65% year over year and creating our first advertising campaign specifically for the tournament. But simply being visible isn’t enough. We want Modelo to add to an experience fans already love, and are building brand experiences to do just that.

Q: Why are sports such a powerful platform for building brands?
A: Sports create community. They bring people together across backgrounds and generations around something they care deeply about. That resonates naturally with Modelo. The fighting spirit we celebrate is something you see in athletes and fans alike, and beer has long been part of the occasions that bring people together around sports.

That’s powerful for brands, but you can’t manufacture that kind of passion. You have to understand what people already care about and find an authentic way for your brand to contribute to it.

Q: What’s the difference between showing up around culture and actually becoming part of it?
A: It’s about building personal, authentic connections – not buying access.

Consumers know when a brand is simply putting its logo somewhere. Our approach is to go deeper by meeting fans where they are and finding meaningful ways to contribute to the communities, traditions, and experiences they care about. 

Modelo won’t just be advertising around games. The brand will be part of the broader culture and community that make college sports so meaningful to fans.

That’s how you move from visibility to relevance.

Q: How do you know when a cultural partnership is actually working for the business?
A: Reach matters, but it’s not enough.

We look at whether an investment is strengthening brand relevance, deepening consumer relationships, and ultimately contributing to business performance. With Modelo, we’ve seen how sustained investment in sports and culture can build meaningful brand equity and drive growth over time. 

Q: How will Constellation continue finding meaningful ways for its brands to be part of culture?
A: We’ll continue to be disciplined and strategic about where and how we invest. 

It’s not about chasing every single cultural moment. It’s about understanding where consumers are going, identifying where our brands have an authentic role to play, and investing in opportunities that can strengthen those relationships over the long term.

For Modelo, the NCAA® partnership builds on a connection we’ve established over years and gives us a much bigger platform to deepen it.

The Partnership Extends Across the Portfolio
The NCAA® partnership also includes exclusive ready-to-drink sponsorship rights, which Constellation Brands plans to leverage to build momentum and fan engagement for SpikedAde, the spirit-based RTD brand Constellation acquired in October. With the inclusion of SpikedAde as the official RTD sponsor of the NCAA, we aim to expand our consumer-led approach to building out the portfolio, from iconic beer brands to emerging demand spaces.

Source:
¹Circana, MULOC+ L52 WE 10-11-2026