University of Kentucky Athletics Partners with Rubicon to Accelerate Sustainability Goals

Rubicon Named First Official Sustainability Partner of University of Kentucky Athletics

Lexington, Kentucky (September 7, 2021) — Rubicon®, an innovative leader in the global waste and recycling industry, and University of Kentucky Athletics today announced a new marketing and strategic partnership that will help the athletics department accelerate progress toward its sustainability goals.

Rubicon has been named the first Official Sustainability Partner of UK Athletics. The partnership is effective immediately and will include joint efforts to promote new awareness around reducing, reusing, and recycling waste.

Initial signs of the partnership and joint commitment to sustainability will be evident on waste and recycling bins throughout UK’s athletic facilities. Additionally, Rubicon will become the new presenting sponsor of UK Recycling’s “Big Blue Crew,” as well as presenting sponsor of the Rubicon “Green” Lot, a parking lot directly adjacent to Kroger Field.

“UK Athletics is committed to operating a world-class program in all that we do,” said UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart. “That includes our efforts to achieve sustainability at Kroger Field, Rupp Arena, and all of our athletics facilities. This partnership with Rubicon will help us do just that.”

Rubicon was founded in Kentucky by Nate Morris, the company’s current Chairman and CEO, and is headquartered in Lexington.

“The University of Kentucky means so much to me, as well as to the entire Commonwealth,” said Morris. “We are proud to partner with UK Athletics in our joint efforts to promote new awareness around reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. We are eager to help accelerate the university’s strategy to move toward zero waste highlighted in the Sustainability Strategic Plan.”

University of Kentucky graduate and benefactor C.M. “Bill” Gatton was an early investor in Rubicon and is a strong supporter of the company.

“Nate Morris is an extraordinary young man with a unique vision, and Rubicon is a strong example of a company with deep Kentucky ties reimagining industry in America,” said Gatton. “This partnership will be great for the University of Kentucky, great for Rubicon, and great for Kentucky.”

The affiliation deepens Morris’s ties to the university, where he is “Entrepreneur in Residence,” a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, and in 2019 endowed the Presidential Fellows Program at the Gatton College of Business and Economics.