"A company or donor just doesn't walk in the door and say, 'I've got a lot of money to renovate or build a stadium if you put my name on it,"' he said.

The basketball arena has been known Huntsman Center since school accepted $5 million from billionaire industrialist Jon M. Huntsman Sr. in 1987. The football stadium was named for U. benefactor Robert L. Rice in 1972. It was hyphenated to Rice-Eccles Stadium after the George S. and Dore Eccles Foundation donated $10 million for expansion and renovation 10 years ago.

Those names won't change, though if something did materialize, Ritrievi would have to consider it. "But I think at this university and many other universities that are traditional in their approach, it would not be something they would automatically do."

Universities spend years cultivating relationships with wealthy potential donors who they can go to should facilities need upgrading or if they're building new. "It's a process, not an event," Ritrievi said.

At BYU, the J. Willard Marriott Sr. family has contributed millions of dollars to campus facilities including the basketball arena known as the Marriott Center.

"The name is not contingent upon sponsorship," said Carri Jenkins, university spokeswoman. "We have no intent of changing it."

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