Florida Atlantic has accepted a stadium sponsorship with the GEO Group out of Boca Raton. There is significant controversy concerning the naming rights though, as the GEO Group has been targeted by human rights groups for numerous alleged violations and corruption charges.
College football stadium naming rights: Where FAU’s ranks in dollars
How much money does your school make off its less-than-poetic corporate name?
As far as the money goes, the 12-year deal ticks out at $500,000 per year.
Here’s a look at other stadiums around college football with naming rights. Excluding stadiums like Miami’s SunLife, New Orleans’ Superdome, Tampa’s Raymond James and San Diego’s Qualcomm, which also house NFL teams, here’s the current FBS list:
Apogee Stadium, North Texas: The Mean Green will bank $1 million a year over the course of a 20-year deal.
BB&T Field, Wake Forest: Wake Forest agreed to a 10-year deal in 2007 to rename Groves Stadium with the Winston-Salem based bank. Financial teams of the deal have yet to be disclosed, as Wake Forest is a private school.
Bright House Networks Stadium, UCF: UCF currently earns $1 million a year over a 15-year deal (starting in 2006) with the cable company Bright House.
Capital One Field, Maryland: The Chevy Chase Bank entered into a $20 million naming rights deal with the University of Mayland in 2006 to help pay for the renovations. Capital One subsequently bought up Chevy Chase.
Carrier Dome, Syracuse: Carrier purchased the naming rights to the dome back in 1980 for $2.75 million.
High Point Solutions, Rutgers: High Point recently formed a 10-year partnership with Rutgers University in 2011. The deal totals out at $650,000 a year.
Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium, Western Kentucky: A one-time payment of $5 million earned Houchens naming rights.
InfoCision Stadium, Akron: InfoCision is currently in the midst of a half-a-million dollar per year deal for the next decade. The playing field is named for Summa Health System, which will earn $250,000 per year for the next two decades.
Jones AT&T Stadium, Texas Tech: The Red Raiders’ stadium name switched from Jones SBC Stadium when SBC bought AT&T. The company, whatever it’s called, gave Texas Tech $30 million around the turn of the century.
Liberty Bank, Arkansas State: The bank has ASU’s naming rights through 2027 after a $5 million payment.
Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville: Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the initial lead gift was $5 million. Papa John’s holds the rights through 2040.
TCF Bank Stadium, Minnesota: The TCF Financial Corporation agreed to a deal that averages $1.4 million per year.
As you can see, the majority of these naming rights are handed toward universities that are trying to pay off debts from stadium reconstruction or renovation. Most of these universities (outside of maybe Louisville) are on the low-end range in the FBS money race and need outside help.
Florida Atlantic’s rights are not the most expensive and fall somewhere within the median range at this point.
More in College Football:
Look through SB Nation’s many excellent college football blogs to find your team’s community.
See More:
