Giving away a trip for two to the 2013 BCS National Championship game, AT&T will offer fans a chance to unlock foursquare badges at check-in locations for all of the BCS title games, as well as select sports bars. Running between Jan. 2 and Jan. 9, the name of the promotion is “AT&T Football Fanatic. ”

Guidelines for the game appear on a Facebook page.

Badges are the essence of foursquare, the booming social media platform, because it has turned social media into a game. Earning badges allow people to stand out from others.

With its “AT&T Football Fanatic” contest, AT&T is one of the most aggressive large brands to leverage foursquare thus far.AT&T VP  Wireless Data, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets Ted Woodbury called foursquare “a unique social media platform.” At foursquare, the game was sold and coordinated by a team led by VP of Mobile and International Holger Luedorf.

BCS Games where AT&T will enable check-in are the Jan. 2 Rose Bowl, Jan. 2 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 3 Allstate Sugar Bowl, Jan. 4 Discover Orange Bowl and Jan. 9 Allstate BCS National Championship.

Another example of AT&T’s commitment to foursquare is a popular AT&T Blackberry Torch 4G commercial that’s currently in heavy rotation during network sports coverage, a Dilbert-type declares himself “Mayor Dennis of the Water Cooler.”