With revenue sharing coming to college sports, athletic departments across the country are looking for ways to increase their revenue opportunities.
That includes Ohio State, which – according to new athletic director Ross Bjork – is exploring selling the naming rights to Ohio Stadium and advertisement space on its jerseys.
“I’ve been saying, ‘Look, we have to put everything on the table,’” Bjork recently told On3. “Naming rights of the stadium. The jersey patch is a conversation. We have to work with our partner, Nike, in that conversation.
“If we’re breaking glass right now and we’re going to put the window back, let’s get it all on the table so we can put the window back in the right position. Everything has to be on the table right now to analyze.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to do it. It just means, let’s at least answer the question. Here’s the value. Is this the right thing to do? Yes or no? If it’s not, OK, fine. If it is, how do we pursue it? Or how does it fit in?”
The NCAA announced in June a rule change that will allow schools to display corporate logos on football fields for regular season games, as well as commercial sponsor advertisements on uniforms.
The Buckeyes already have a corporate logo displayed on the 25-yard lines at the Horseshoe; however, after selling the naming rights to the playing surface to the Horseshoe in 2022 to Columbus-based Safelite AutoGlass.
It’s worth noting, though, that Safelite Field is not included in the official name of Ohio Stadium, unlike Ohio State’s basketball venue, which is officially known as Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
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