Names of college venues rarely change

While names of professional sports venues change with the economic fortunes of corporate sponsors, the identities of college stadiums and arenas in Utah are all but set in stone.

Campus venues typically are named in perpetuity for wealthy donors to the athletic program or distinguished coaches like LaVell Edwards at Brigham Young University. Only of them — Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Stadium at Weber State University — is named after a woman. She and her husband, Donnell B. Stewart, donated some $12 million to the school over their lifetimes.

The Utah State University football stadium has borne the name of E. Lowell "Dick" Romney since 1968. Romney, who coached the Aggies from 1919 to 1948, is the winningest football coach in school history.

"As far as I know, ours (naming rights) are not for sale," said Doug Hoffman, USU sports information director, adding the most collegiate venues don't bear corporate names.

But that doesn't mean the school's ears wouldn't be pricked if an offer came along.

"My guess is that if someone approached Utah State about making a donation and changing the name of one those facilities, I'm sure we would listen," Hoffman said.

Several universities in the West have not only listened but have enlisted corporate sponsorship, a growing trend in college sports.

Boise State University has the Taco Bell Arena, Arizona State the Wells Fargo Arena and Fresno State the Save Mart Center.

"So much of what we see in professional sports percolates into the college scene," said Dennis Howard, a business professor at the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. "They are starting corporatize."

The cost to build and maintain athletic facilities on already cash-strapped college campuses is becoming much more expensive, said David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California.

And while schools might want to hold on to tradition, economic realities dictate otherwise.

"Historically buildings were named after people but historically buildings haven't cost $200 million," he said.

Furthermore, Carter said, fan tolerance of corporate naming rights isn't that big of an issue anymore. "It really doesn't bother anybody," he said.