Farmers Insurance Announces Partnership With the Golf Coaches Association of America - msnbc.com

LOS ANGELES, CA — Farmers Insurance, the sponsor of the PGA TOUR's Farmers Insurance Open, is proud to announce a partnership with the Golf Coaches Association of America as the presenting sponsor of the Academic Team Awards. The partnership builds upon the success of "University Day" at the Farmers Insurance Open where players have been encouraged to support their alma maters during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open the past two years. In 2012, $20,000 was awarded to the Florida State University golf program on behalf of top finisher Jonas Blixt and $10,000 to Georgia Tech's program on behalf of runner-up Cameron Tringale.

"Farmers is proud to extend our support of education and University Day throughout the year," said Chuck Browning, Head of Sponsorships for Farmers Insurance. "It is a perfect fit for us -- it is an opportunity for our agents around the country to get involved with our golf platform and academic institutions on a local level and we are proud to honor top performing academic men's golf programs in the country."

The Academic National Champion Awards honor teams with the highest collective GPA in men's college golf, with a champion from NCAA Divisions I, II and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA DI and DII. Established in 2009 by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), the award program also recognizes All-Academic Teams in each of those divisions with a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher. Approximately 300 men's golf programs have been named All-Academic Teams in the three-year history of the award.

"This award program recognizes not only our student-athletes for their performance in the classroom, but also their school's commitment to academic excellence and the support of their coaches and athletic departments," said GCAA President Bruce Brockbank. "We are extremely pleased to partner with Farmers Insurance to bring national recognition to these programs and student-athletes."

About the GCAA

The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) was established in 1958 and is located in Norman, OK. The GCAA is a non-profit organization and is the professional association of men's collegiate golf coaches. Through its established events and programs, the GCAA maintains a goal of increasing awareness and the status of men's golf. There are over 800 members in the GCAA representing all three NCAA divisions as well as NAIA and NJCAA.

The GCAA annually administers collegiate competitions, including the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship and the Palmer Cup. In addition, the GCAA administers the team that represents the United States in the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup. Through its CEO and national office staff, the GCAA is also responsible for coordinating several recognition and educational events each year. The GCAA functions as the primary award granting organization for men's collegiate golf and has honored thousands of student-athletes and coaches since its inception.

About Farmers Insurance Group

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is a leading U.S. insurer of automobiles, homes and small businesses and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.

Farmers is a trade name and may refer to Farmers Group, Inc. or the Farmers Exchanges, as the case may be. Farmers Group, Inc., a management and holding company, along with its subsidiaries, is wholly owned by the Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyholders, and managed by Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information about Farmers, visit its Web site at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

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