BURLINGTON, Vt. – Doubletree by Hilton Burlington officially becomes the preferred hotel partner of University of Vermont Athletics as a multi-year partnership was announced today by the University and its athletics multimedia rightsholder, Learfield's Vermont Sports Properties.

Effective immediately, Doubletree by Hilton will serve as the Catamounts' "Official Hotel Partner" through the 2019-20 academic year. The Doubletree has been a proud sponsor of UVM Athletics for several years and is very excited to enhance the partnership. Notably, Doubletree will serve as presenting sponsor for the Catamounts' men's hockey tournament and women's basketball tournament by hosting visiting teams and bolstering awareness for the local hotel through numerous vehicles.

"We're thrilled to introduce what we consider to be an incredibly comprehensive partnership with the Catamounts, and we are proud to hold the designation as UVM Athletics' 'official hotel partner'," said Lainnie Lacroix, General Manager of the Doubletree by Hilton Burlington. "There are numerous ways we'll be engaging with the campus community and Catamount fans of all ages, and we're looking forward to kicking everything off in the coming months."

Complementing its university affiliation, Doubletree by Hilton Burlington will once again host a "Can for a Cookie" Food Drive at the men's and women's basketball games vs. Saint Michael's College in November to support the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. Additionally, UVM Athletics' Official Hotel Partner will continue to support the Victory Club, providing resources that directly benefit UVM's 400 student-athletes.

"We look forward to this enhanced partnership with Doubletree by Hilton Burlington and appreciate the investment in our program, our student-athletes, fans, as well as visiting families and teams," said UVM's Director of Athletics Jeff Schulman. "We're excited about the many components of this valuable relationship and look forward to a continued partnership for years to come."

Learfield has long been immersed in the collegiate athletics landscape. In addition to Vermont, the company manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 120 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas, in addition to supporting athletic departments at all competitive levels as title sponsor of the prestigious Learfield Directors' Cup.