Mobile video game producer Kabam has recently "pulled out of its naming rights partnership with Cal Athletics, meaning the flashy name will no longer be featured on the field" at Memorial Stadium, according to Yazdanian & Weinstein of the Berkeley DAILY CALIFORNIAN. Cal Assistant AD/Communications Herb Benenson said that the two parties "came to a mutual agreement" that will net Cal about $5M that will go toward "paying debt services." This ends the initial 15-year, $18M deal -- the "largest naming rights agreement in college athletics" at the time of signing in '13. The department has four years to "find a new partner before the ending of the agreement," which paid Cal Athletics about $1.2M each year, "results in a net loss." Cal, which operated with a deficit nearing $22M in FY '16, has the "most debt of any athletic program in the nation" (Berkeley DAILY CALIFORNIAN, 6/9).
MONEY IN THE BANK: In S.F., Rusty Simmons notes Cal and Under Armour teamed up in a "promotional series that had the campus buzzing about the school’s rebranded logos and hinted at the partnership’s potential assistance to the financially strapped program." Cal officials said that a "transitional bonus" from UA is "helping the school pay for resurfacing projects at Haas Pavilion and Memorial Stadium that are expected to be completed this weekend." However, the new deal with UA and contracts with Learfield that are "supposed to take effect next month" are projected to provide about $8M more annually than the school’s previous contracts in apparel, multimedia and licensing. The designs of the new uniforms will be released in the coming months, but Cal and UA "started riling up anticipation this week by debuting several new logos." The Cal script will "remain the primary logo, but the partners introduced some alternate options that have Bears fans clamoring" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/9).
