The Rutgers Scarlet Knights announced a new stadium naming-rights deal on Friday, and it is sure to lead to plenty of humor and derision over the next seven years. The university announced that it had come to terms with IT provider SHI International, and the stadium would be henceforth known as SHI Stadium.
SHI Stadium is new name of Rutgers football stadium after company, that is “global provider of technology solutions & products,” signs multi-year naming rights deal. Can’t imagine how many jokes will be made about the letter missing from stadium name
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 19, 2019
According to NJ.com, SHI International and Rutgers agreed to a seven-year deal that runs until the 2025-26 academic year. SHI will pay Rutgers $1.25 million this year, and the value of the deal will increase by $100,000 annually until the final year.
BREAKING: Rutgers signs massive naming-rights deal for football stadium | Here are the exclusive terms https://t.co/dQuyUtbVmm
— Keith Sargeant (@KSargeantNJ) July 19, 2019
Previously, Rutgers’ naming-rights for its football stadium belonged to High Point Solutions. The company and the university agreed to an eight-year deal starting in 2011, but the two sides chose not to renew their partnership at the end of this past season. Reportedly, High Point Solutions was only paying $600,000 annually for the naming-rights to the stadium, so this is a big win for Rutgers.
It’s also a much needed win for Rutgers. After a decade of success in the Big East, the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten in 2014, and it’s been a rough transition. Following a respectable 8-5 debut, the Scarlet Knights have won just 11 games in the last four seasons, and they have four wins in conference play.
Rutgers bottomed out last year, finishing 1-11 and going winless in conference play. The Scarlet Knights failed to score more than 17 points in any game against an FBS opponent, and as a result, social media has had a field day with the stadium’s new name.
Now that Big Ten schools are no longer allowed to schedule FCS opponents, it’s possible that things get even worse for Rutgers this year too. We’re sure to see the new stadium name used in some great memes, and that will be the high point of Rutgers football in 2019.
H/T NJ.com
