Williams Arena could have a new name for next year’s basketball season.
In an April 3 press release, the University of Minnesota’s Department of Athletics announced its collaboration with Independent Sports & Entertainment to sell the naming rights to Williams Arena.
Minnesota Athletic Director Mark Coyle said the naming of Williams is a great opportunity for the University and ISE.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for a company to align themselves with the University of Minnesota and with Gopher Athletics,” Coyle said.
Prior to the announcement, ISE partnered with the athletic departments of eight different Division I schools, including Washington State, West Virginia and Vanderbilt.
The sports consulting firm Navigate claims Minnesota could receive upwards of $1 million annually should a naming rights deal be met, according to Jake Epstein of the Star Tribune.
“Schools are looking to generate revenue in whatever ways possible,” Epstein said. “A naming rights deal is one of the major ways that the University of Minnesota could do that.”
In an interview on KFXN-FM 100.3, or KFAN, Coyle said the partnership with ISE could help the program financially.
“We’ve got so many great corporations in the Twin Cities and nationally,” Coyle said. “If we can get a naming partner for Williams Arena, that’s money we can invest back into our program.”
The recent history of Williams Arena’s issues
Despite Williams Arena’s century-old frame, the building needed multiple renovations as of late.
In 2008, a cracked pipe resulted in flooding and damage to the men’s basketball locker room.
Three years later, Minnesota funded a $1 million renovation of its roof, only for the roof to need a complete replacement in 2014.
In a recent op-ed, Minnesota Star Tribune columnist Michael Rand said he expects the arena to live on despite these issues.
“Williams Arena hasn’t gone anywhere, and it is destined now to live well past 100,” Rand said.
Although Epstein described himself as somewhat of an outsider to Minnesota basketball, he does not expect much to change in terms of how fans refer to Williams Arena, should a naming rights deal be reached.
“I wouldn’t think that deal would involve much of a shift in how people refer to Williams Arena,” Epstein said. “Especially since it’s colloquially referred to as ‘The Barn’ anyway.”
The evolving world of Name, Image and Likeness
Since July 1, 2021, NCAA athletes have been profiting from their name, image and likeness.
A recently proposed settlement is awaiting a federal judge who could decide the future of NIL.
The three cases of House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA could result in Power Four universities allocating upwards of $20.5 million for revenue sharing each year.
Coyle said the program uses the limited resources they have, but they still need money to compete in the NIL era.
“We feel like we’ve been good stewards of the resources we’ve been blessed with, but we just need additional money, especially as we enter this new transformational stage of college athletics,” Coyle said.
