SPORTS ILLUSTRATED HEISMAN TOUR PRESENTED BY NISSAN: An Unprecedented, Technological College Football Tailgating Experience

NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --Gesture recognition software, interactive HD TouchScreens, RFID bracelets synched to your personal social channels are featured interactive elements within THE SPORTS ILLUSTRATED HEISMAN TROPHY TOUR PRESENTED BY NISSAN which is expected to host hundreds of thousands of college football fans within its massive foot print.  The tour will make stops at 10 of this season's highest profile college football games, bringing with it SPORTS ILLUSTRATED writers and editors including Dan Patrick, the Heisman Trophy and past award recipients all to create an exciting environment that unites sports and technology.

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"Fans at this year's SPORTS ILLUSTRATED HEISMAN TOUR will enjoy the most digitally advanced tailgate in college football history," said Frank Wall, Vice President and Publisher, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. "The event delivers the DNA of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED though new technologies that fans will love."  

In conjunction with the tour SPORTS ILLUSTRATED platforms including the flagship weekly and SI.com incorporate 2D barcodes and the award-winning Just Askin' social platform, respectively. Leading into each tour stop SPORTS ILLUSTRATED will interview the key players and coaches for that game. The interviews will be comprised exclusively from questions from football fans which have been submitted and voted upon by the social community via "Just Askin'". Additionally, a 2D barcode will be embedded into the weekly Sports Illustrated Inside College Football Column where fans can unlock bonus footage from the interview. The multiplatform program is sponsored by Nissan. This is the sixth year SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and Nissan have teamed up around College Football and the fifth year of game-day college football tailgating experiences.

"Nissan has always been about delivering Innovation for All, not just in our vehicles, but in everything we do," said Jon Brancheau, Vice President, Marketing, Nissan.  "We are very excited to once again partner with SPORTS ILLUSTRATED to bring football's most prestigious award, the Heisman trophy, former Heisman winners and some of Nissan's most exciting vehicles all into one innovative experience for college football fans to enjoy this season."

The following is the 2011 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED HEISMAN TROPHY TOUR PRESENTED BY NISSAN Schedule:

9/3/11 LSU v. Oregon (Arlington, TX)
9/10/11 Notre Dame @ Michigan
9/17/11 Oklahoma @ Florida St.
10/1/11 Nebraska @ Wisconsin
10/8/11 Iowa @ Penn St.
10/15/11 Florida @ Auburn
11/5/11 Texas A&M @ Oklahoma
11/12/11 Florida @ So. Carolina
11/19/11 USC @ Oregon
12/3/11 Big Ten Championship

At each stop on the 2011 tour fans can:

• Register a RFID bracelets ("Heisman Bracelet") to automatically send updates and photos to their Facebook profile  
• Participate in the Combine Skills Challenge, run entirely on gesture recognition technology
• Be a contestant in a live College Football Trivia Game Show
• Explore HD touch screen kiosks loaded with team-specific video, photography and past SI covers
• Take photos with the Heisman trophy (and have them uploaded automatically to Facebook)
• Hear from past Heisman winners and hopefuls in chalk talks led by SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Senior Writer Dan Patrick and the staff of the "The Dan Patrick Show"
• Receive a 92-page custom publication recounting the most unforgettable games in each home team's history

The flagship weekly magazine and SI.com will also include technological enhancements in their 2011 college football coverage.  

• SI.com's proprietary social platform Just Askin' allows users to submit questions and vote on the most popular questions, which will be asked in SI's pregame interviews with players and coaches.
• A new weekly Heisman Watch column will debut on SI.com and include a Heisman Watch Twitter feed, which can be sorted by various topics surrounding the award.  
• Throughout the season, 2D barcodes will be embedded in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED "Inside College Football" columns which will unlock exclusive "Just Askin'" video content.

About SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

For more than 55 years SPORTS ILLUSTRATED has delivered the stories of sport, first through the flagship print magazine, and now through more than two dozen platforms reaching a collective audience of more than 30 million.  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is widely seen as leading the industry's digital transformation which complements the media company's emerging marketing, retail business and social footprint, which is more than 2.5 million strong. Current SPORTS ILLUSTRATED business units include print, digital, marketing, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Books, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED International and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Productions. These units are built on the foundation of the franchise's award-winning writers and photographers who have earned a combined 50 awards for editorial excellence in the past year.

About Nissan North America

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, design, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing.  Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010 and has been recognized as a 2010 and 2011 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  More information about Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.Infiniti.com.

About Nissan

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second largest Japanese automotive company by volume, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan and is an integral pillar of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 150,000 employees globally, Nissan provided customers with more than 4 million vehicles in 2010.  With a strong commitment to developing exciting and innovative products for all, Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of fuel-efficient and low-emissions vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands.  A pioneer in zero emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades including the prestigious 2011 European Car of the Year award.

For more information on our products, services and commitment to Sustainable Mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

SOURCE SPORTS ILLUSTRATED