Goodyear creates tire sculptures for Cotton Bowl

AKRON — Goodyear unveiled life-size sculptures of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic teams' mascots created from Goodyear tires.

These sculptures embody the dedication to outstanding performance built into each tire and every player and coach on the teams, the company said.

Standing over five feet tall and weighing more than 200 pounds each, the tire art features Penn State University's mascot, the Nittany Lion, and the University of Memphis' mascot, Tom the Tiger.

Collectively, the tire-based artwork was constructed from more than 260 Goodyear-branded tires, leverages approximately 450 hidden screws and took 400 hours to complete.

For the fourth consecutive year, Goodyear commissioned the unique talents of artist and former minor league baseball player Blake McFarland to handcraft the tire sculptures. The artwork will serve as the centerpiece for many of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic festivities leading up to the game on Dec. 28 at AT&T Stadium and will be donated to the schools following the game.

"Goodyear's annual tire art build has quickly become a beloved tradition for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic," said Rick Baker, Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic president and CEO. "Our ongoing collaboration with Goodyear continues to enhance the Cotton Bowl Classic experience every year for players and fans alike, and we look forward to creating more memories together."

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic hosts marquee matchups as a member of the "New Year's Six," the top bowl games included in the College Football Playoffs Semifinal rotation. In 2018, Goodyear announced a multiyear agreement to renew its title sponsorship of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, which extends its more than six-decade association with college football dating back to when the Goodyear Blimp first provided aerial coverage at the 1955 Rose Bowl game.

"Goodyear is incredibly proud to be a part of one of college football's most revered bowl games," said Todd Macsuga, Goodyear's general manager of brand marketing. "The teams who compete in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic worked hard all season long to reach this point, and these tire sculptures marry the commitment to excellence and performance that the teams exhibit and that we demonstrate in our tires."

The 2019 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic game kicks off on ESPN on Dec. 28, at noon EST.