Randy Smith
There’s a new trend in college sports. Stadium and arena naming rights have been around for some time, but with the rising costs of putting athletes on the field and court, colleges are looking for new ways to raise money. Pilot Oil spared the University of Tennessee from having to rename the iconic Neyland Stadium and Shields-Watkins Field by signing a 20-year deal that will keep the stadium names in exchange for signage around the massive facility.
Pilot Oil Stadium instead of Neyland Stadium just wouldn’t be right, so thanks to Pilot Oil for stepping in. Stadium naming has also reached smaller schools, as Florida International has reached an agreement with Grammy-winning Pitbull to name its 20,000-seat stadium after a name. The need for all this extra money stems from recent legislation to pay athletes and increase scholarships. The billions of dollars raised through television contracts are clearly not enough.
Not every school has Pilot Oil to help them out. Kentucky has an agreement with Kroger, and Louisville’s stadium is called L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium after being called Papa John’s Stadium for several years. Here locally, Finley Stadium is unnamed as far as a sponsorship goes, but since UTC doesn’t own Finley, they can’t sell the naming rights. McKenzie Arena is named after the late Toby McKenzie and his then-wife Brenda, who generously donated $2 million in 2000 to pay off the debt.
Most current stadiums and arenas are named after legendary coaches or benefactors, and like Neyland Stadium, it’s difficult to rename one after a group or individual who donated a lot of money. In Nebraska, the football stadium is named Memorial Stadium, after Nebraskans killed in military service. The same goes for Clemson and many other stadiums around the country. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I guess it depends on who’s writing the big check.
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Randy Smith can be reached at [email protected]
