The NCAA and CBS Sports announced today that The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) has become an Official NCAA Corporate Partner.  The NCAA partnership provides Hershey's with category exclusive marketing and promotional rights to all 88 NCAA Championship events across 23 different sports, featuring the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball and NCAA Football Championships

Hershey's will support the partnership, which begins with 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, with integrated marketing programs, promotional campaigns, and advertising across a variety of mediums, and will work with the NCAA and CBS Sports to develop activation platforms at the national, regional and local levels.

The partnership also provides opportunities for Hershey to reach approximately 1,000 member schools, more than 400,000 NCAA student-athletes annually and more than 100 million passionate collegiate fans and alumni across 50 states in an effort to reach this loyal consumer demographic.

"We're excited that Hershey's has joined the NCAA Corporate Partner family," said Greg Shaheen, NCAA senior vice president of basketball and business strategies. "Our focus continues to rest on high standards in academics and athletics, which is similar in nature to the top quality business principles and values that Hershey's has demonstrated over the years."

"Hershey is proud to be joining an exclusive and prestigious group of NCAA partners, said Michele Buck, senior vice president, global chief marketing officer.  "The excitement and loyalty people have for our iconic Hershey Brands parallels fans' allegiance to their favorite NCAA teams, providing the perfect partnership for marketing our full range of successful brands."

"CBS Sports is pleased to add The Hershey Company to our impressive roster of NCAA Corporate Marketing partners. Hershey markets some of the most recognizable brands in this country and will provide unparalleled activation and promotional opportunities for the NCAA and its Championships" said Chris Simko, Senior Vice President, CBS Sports Sales and Marketing and Director CBS Sports Properties Group.

ABOUT THE HERSHEY COMPANY

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is the largest North American manufacturer of quality chocolate and sugar confectionery products. With revenues of nearly $5 billion and almost 13,000 employees worldwide, The Hershey Company markets such iconic brands as Hershey's,

Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Kit Kat, Twizzlers and Ice Breakers. Hershey is the leader in the fast-growing dark and premium chocolate segment, with such brands as Hershey's Bliss, Hershey's Special Dark, Hershey's Extra Dark and Cacao Reserve by Hershey's. Hershey's Ice Breakers franchise delivers refreshment across a variety of mint and gum flavors and formats. Hershey's partnership with Starbucks offers a premium chocolate experience that combines the highest-quality chocolate with Starbucks coffee-house flavors, for a range of delicious and distinct chocolate products. In addition, Artisan Confections Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hershey Company, markets such premium chocolate offerings as Scharffen Berger, known for its high-cacao dark chocolate products, Joseph Schmidt, recognized for its fine, handcrafted chocolate gifts, and Dagoba, known for its high-quality natural and organic chocolate bars. Visit us at www.hersheynewsroom.com.

ABOUT THE NCAA

The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaasports.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.

The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions-AT&T, Coca-Cola and Pontiac-and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners-DiGiorno, Enterprise, The Hartford, Lowe's, Sheraton and State Farm.

NCAA is a trademark owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.