Texas Dow Employees Credit Union will pay $15M "over 10 years to rebrand" the Univ. of Houston's new 40,000-seat on-campus football stadium TDECU Stadium, according to Joseph Duarte of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. The $1.5M annual value of the deal "is the most" for an FBS school. UH AD Mack Rhoades said, "We certainly had a goal in mind that we looked at market value and what was happening across the country, what we really thought our value was worth not just in athletics but the university as a whole." Rhoades said that he "had 'serious discussions' with a half dozen companies about putting their name" on the new stadium. TDECU President & CEO Stephanie Sherrodd said that this will be the "first major corporate sponsorship of a sports venue" for the company. Rhoades said that TDECU as part of the agreement will "receive prominent signage on the exterior of the stadium, on the video board and on the artificial playing surface, strategically placed 'to maximize TV exposure.'" Duarte notes TDECU also will "receive a suite located on the 50-yard line, along with ticket discounts for employees and members." UH and TDECU have a "mutual option of extending the deal for another five years for an addition" $7.5M (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/9). TDECU as part of the deal will "sponsor the Cougar 100," a new initiative from the school's Alumni Association that "recognizes the world's fastest-growing businesses owned or led by UH alumni" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/9). There were no agencies involved on either side in brokering the deal. The university's internal group was spearheaded by Rhoades and Senior Associate AD/External Relations Jeramiah Dickey, while the credit union's group was led by Sherrodd and VP/Community Relations & Business Development Lucilla Henderson (THE DAILY).
