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Montana is home to two great universities: The University of Montana & Montana State University. Billings Gazette (Billings, MT) decided to capitalize on the rivalry between the Grizzlies & Bobcats by running this simple sweepstakes in which two fans will win tickets to the match up in November. What a simple, fantastic contest. Bonus points for having an opt-in for their Today’s Deal program on the submission page!

At last, football season has arrived! With that in mind, today I’d like to showcase an excellent football contest from Tribune Chronicle (Warren, OH). The paper is running 3 football contests: a local high school contest, top 15 college games, and the national pro game (run by Second Street). To make it easy for readers to enter, they created a landing page that promotes all three contests and is surrounded by sponsors’ ads. What a genius idea! Great work – we can’t wait to see the results of your contests.

Are you running a football contest that deserves a standing ovation? Let us know in the comments.

This year, more than ever, we’ve seen many great sharp looking college basketball brackets. Here’s just a peek at a few brands that really hit a slam dunk with their aesthetics:
1. P.C. Richard & Son, an electronic superstore, showcased their bracket on their homepage slider.

2. Famous Dave’s, a popular bar-be-que restaurant, boasts a “Million Dollar Madness” image that links to the contest.

3. Fathead (see Fathead Announces One Million Dollar Bracket Contests) posted both upfront and round-by-round bracket on their site for visitors.

Do you bleed blue? cougarblue.com and Provo Daily Herald (Provo, UT) team up to award the biggest BYU fan with a prize any fan would kill for: 2 tickets to the BYU versus Wyoming game. From the looks of the submission, lots of BYU fans bleed blue!

What a clever contest! Idaho Press-Tribune (Nampa, ID) and the Boise State Bronco Shop joins forces and invites die-hard fans to show off their Bronco themed rooms. Winners receive a gift card to the Bronco Shop (very fitting) and a chance to win tickets to the big rivalry game of Boise State versus Oregon State. Love this contest.

Football season brings with it a wonderful tradition – tailgating! Statesboro Herald (Statesboro, GA) took advantage of their location in a college town with this “biggest fan” photo contest. A great contesting idea for a favorite local sports team near you!