• September 2, 2011

Florida's tourism marketing corporation, Visit Florida, is launching a contest around NCAA football to boost the tourism-based economy by getting people to vote on which of the state's six major universities has the most avid fans.

Part of the "Share A Little Sunshine," a viral marketing program to get Floridians to support tourism, the effort involves Florida A&M University, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of Miami and University of South Florida which collectively have more than 10 million fans, per Visit Florida.

The "Florida Fan Game" includes TV spots by each of the six university head football coaches that start airing Friday, Sept. 2 via a partnership with the Florida Association of Broadcasters and the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association.  The ads feature head coaches Jimbo Fisher, Al Golden, Skip Holtz Will Muschamp, George O'Leary and Joe Taylor.

The game, at Facebook.com/ShareaLittleSunshine, involves fans using Florida travel invitations at the social media site that represent each of the six universities. Fans can personalize their invitations and send them to Facebook friends. Each invitation adds a point on behalf of the selected school. Recipients will get an invitation to come to the Sunshine State, accompanied by a $25 coupon for Southwest Airlines flights into Florida and links to various deals.

According to Visit Florida throughout football season, an online scoreboard will track the number of invitations sent by each school. The school whose fan base sends the most invitations by Dec. 5 wins the title of "Florida's No. 1 Fans."  One fan gets an 11-day Florida vacation for six. Other prizes include game tickets, deals on attractions, hotels and restaurants.