Chipotle partners with three schools to fuel student athletes for season
A leading fast-casual chain is partnering with three college sports powerhouses to treat student athletes to a free meal once a week.
For the 2025-26 school year, all student athletes at The Ohio State University, University of Florida and University of Georgia will receive a customized card granting them free Chipotle Mexican Grill (one entree per week) for the duration of their respective athletic seasons. Earlier this year, Chipotle debuted the meal program with The Ohio State University, and now the chain is expanding its customized card offering to more college athletes with the addition of two more schools.
Chipotle's program will allow nearly 2,000 student athletes to benefit from Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). Chipotle worked with Ohio State Sports Properties, Florida Gators Sports Properties and Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing (the athletics multimedia rights holders of their respective athletics departments) and locally-based teams of sports marketing company Learfield for the program.
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Image credit: Chipotle -
Image credit: Chipotle
"Our restaurants near each of these universities are frequently filled with student athletes looking for a quick and nutritious meal that can help them thrive in the classroom and on the field," said Chris Brandt, president and chief brand officer at Chipotle. "By expanding our college card program to three universities this academic year, we're democratizing NIL for nearly 2,000 student athletes and increasing their access to real food when they need it the most."
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To gear up for the season, Chipotle launched two new ads that tap into the passion of college football: one featuring The Ohio State University football players Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles and Carnell Tate, and the second starring University of Florida quarterback DJ Lagway and former basketball guard Walter Clayton Jr.
"We're excited to continue growing this collaboration with a brand that shares our commitment to empowering student athletes to be their authentic and best selves," said Logan Hittle, The Ohio State University's associate athletic director, NIL & strategic initiatives.
There are more than 3,800 Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants as of June 30, 2025, in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates. Chipotle is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe.
