ESPN: BitPay not to sponsor St Petersburg Bowl in 2015

The St Petersburg Bowl to be held this year will not be known as Bitcoin St Petersburg Bowl, according to a TV news source, ESPN.

The ESPN representative did not comment as to whether the decision suggests a change in sponsorship for this year's event, or if it is looking for a new sponsor for the 2015 college football playoff at present. The event which took place last year was sponsored by bitcoin processor BitPay, with a three-year deal to brand the bowl game.

"The decision to rebrand the event to the St. Petersburg Bowl was a mutual one between both BitPay and ESPN", the spokesperson told CoinDesk.

The comment came in response to strong social media reaction following the removal of last year's bitcoin-based images from the event's website and other related social media accounts.