OREANDA-NEWS. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Syracuse University announced today that Delta will serve as the official airline of Syracuse University Athletics. The Syracuse football team will also use Delta as their charter carrier for the 2013 season.

"Delta is proud to continue its commitment to the Syracuse community by partnering with Syracuse University – an institution with a strong reputation for academic and athletic excellence," said Gail Grimmett, Delta's senior vice president – New York.

As the official airline of the Orange, Delta will be featured on gameday signage at the Carrier Dome and sponsor in-game promotions during football, basketball and lacrosse games.

Delta has marketing relationships with eight NCAA athletic programs in addition to Syracuse – Boston College, Brigham Young, Duke, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and University of North Carolina. Delta serves as the charter carrier for 41 NCAA Football programs.

Beginning in March 2012, Delta added new all-jet service from LaGuardia to key Upstate New York markets, including Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. It continues to maintain its commitment to the Upstate community through its support of local civic arts and community organizations, including the Syracuse YMCA and the Taste of Syracuse.

Delta offers 15-peak day departures from Syracuse Hancock International Airport to five destinations, including Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York-LaGuardia and New York-JFK. A portion of travel for some itineraries may be on the Delta Connection carriers: Chautauqua, Compass, Endeavor Air, ExpressJet or GoJet.

Delta is New York City's largest and fastest growing carrier, providing service to more destinations from New York State than any other airline. As part of a USD 1.4 billion project to create a state-of-the-art international gateway at JFK, Delta's new Terminal 4 opened earlier this year. The airline is also investing more than USD 160 million to expand and update Terminals C and D at LaGuardia.  The unique Delta Shuttle product offers hourly service to Boston, Chicago (O'Hare) and Washington D.C. Delta's three metropolitan-area airports carried 23.1 million domestic and international passengers in 2012, up from 20.8 million passengers in 2011. Delta and its nearly 9,000 New York-based employees are part of the fabric of the New York community, acting as the official airline of the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Rangers, Madison Square Garden, Food Bank for New York City, New York Wine and Food and AmFar among many others.