IU Athletics inks $50M naming-rights deal with Carmel-based bank for Memorial Stadium
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Indiana University and Carmel-based Merchants Bank have reached a $50 million sponsorship deal that will put the bank’s name on Memorial Stadium’s playing field for the next two decades, officials from IU and Merchants announced Thursday.
The 20-year naming-rights agreement with IU Athletics and Learfield’s IU Sports Properties will result in the Bloomington stadium’s playing surface immediately being renamed Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
Officials said the new name will be “prominently displayed in multiple locations” on the stadium’s playing surface when the football team opens the season Aug. 30 against Old Dominion University. The deal also includes new interior, exterior and directional signage.
As part of the agreement, Merchant’s Bank will provide financial literacy training to IU student-athletes at no cost. The training is expected to “ensure that (student-athletes) have the tools to maximize their opportunities in a new intercollegiate athletics landscape that includes, among other things, revenue sharing and NIL.”
“This agreement is another example of how IU Athletics is positioning the university for success in the new world of college sports,” IU President Pamela Whitten said in written remarks. “We’re particularly grateful that Merchants Bank will contribute not just to the on-field success of our teams, but to our student-athletes’ success in life.”
IU Sports Properties is the exclusive multimedia rights holder for Hoosier athletics.
“The pioneering partnership offers Merchants Bank an incredible branding showcase with Indiana football and provides long-term support for IU Athletics and Hoosier student-athletes,” Luke Reiff, general manager of IU Sports Properties, said in written remarks. “At a time when financial support is critical in college athletics, this monumental partnership with Merchants Bank makes a statement with Hoosier fans and alumni.”
Memorial Stadium has been home to IU football since opening in 1960. Merchants Bank is one of several subsidiaries of Carmel-based Merchants Bancorp, which has $19.1 billion in assets. Through its subsidiaries, Merchants Bancorp offers multifamily housing and health care facility mortgage financing and servicing, mortgage warehouse financing, retail and residential mortgage banking; agricultural lending; and traditional community banking.
Several IU athletes have reached name, image and likeness deals with Merchants Bank over the last several years.