Albuquerque pizza chain WisePies' naming rights deal for the Univ. of New Mexico's basketball arena is "headed toward early termination -- apparently at the school's behest," according to a front-page piece by Dyer & Grammer of the ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL. UNM on Thursday said that WisePies "agreed to walk away" from its 10-year, $5M sponsorship to "make way for another donor." UNM has "not revealed a new naming rights contract," but has described a "pending agreement that would encompass multiple facilities and should be announced soon." WisePies said that it "had the chance to counter the unnamed donor's offer and decided against it, though the company 'was prepared to fulfill the terms'" of the original agreement. WisePies also indicated it had "reached the goals it had set for the partnership and expressed no regrets." Dyer & Grammer note the company's plan to "step aside will cut the original WisePies deal by 7 1/2 years" and $4.2M, "terminating a high-profile and oft-questioned arrangement forged" in '14. WisePies Franchise Services "agreed to give" $5M to UNM's athletic department over a 10-year period. UNM AD Paul Krebs said that WisePies Owner Steve Chavez "has agreed to relinquish the naming rights on July 1." He added that Chavez "has not asked for any kind of refund." Despite ending the deal, the Pit "will still sell WisePies food" (ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL, 4/28).
FINISHED EXPLORING: TruMark Financial Credit Union is providing a significant gift to La Salle Univ. for naming rights to Tom Gola Arena. As part of the multiyear agreement, Tom Gola Arena at Hayman Hall will now be known as the Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center (La Salle).
