College football is entering its branding era

As the college football season kicks off in earnest this weekend, fans will be adjusting to a number of new aspects of the game, including a 12-team championship playoff, unprecedented conference realignment, radio communication between coaches and quarterbacks, and even a two-minute warning. But the change that ultimately might prove most noticeable to the viewer will be writ large across the playing field itself: advertiser logos. Less than three months ago, the National Collegiate...