Published April 15, 2013 As the WNBA ramps up preparations for its 17th season with its annual Draft tonight, State Farm tips off a new sponsorship deal with the league. The insurance company signed a multiyear deal to be the presenting sponsor of the WNBA Draft, with signage at the event hosted on ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters. State Farm also will be featured throughout the broadcast on ESPN, which begins at 8:00pm ET, and is participating in a Draft microsite to tout its presenting partnership. Other elements of the deal include State Farm becoming the halftime show presenting sponsor for all nationally televised games on ABC and ESPN2 as well as the presenting sponsor for the monthly WNBA Community Assist Award. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. State Farm has been a sponsor of the NBA since ‘10 and previously has had team-specific deals in the WNBA before brokering the league-wide partnership. State Farm sponsorship exec Justin Reckamp said, “We always kept an eye on the WNBA and we really saw the great work that the W was doing in communities and in their local areas. We saw it as an opportunity to align two brands that really supported the local community.” Reckamp sees the partnership advancing State Farm’s reach within each market. “Insurance can be a hard conversation to have, and if we can pass into this area that these people are interested in and enhance their experience or provide them some time in their exposure to basketball related items and improve that experience for them, we become more relevant," he said. "It opens the door for us to have an insurance conversation in a context that they’re excited about and familiar about.” The company will still look to sign separate deals on the team level.