Aborted at liftoff: Michigan State shoots down basketball team name change
Mar. 13—It turns out Michigan State's basketball team will not been renamed — or so the university said on Friday.
On Thursday, the university and Rocket Mortgage announced a new five-year sponsorship agreement in which Rocket "will be the presenting sponsor of the famed men's basketball team which will now be known throughout the Breslin Center as 'MSU Spartans Presented by Rocket Mortgage.'"
On Friday, Michigan State attempted to clarify the move, saying the agreement with the Detroit-based mortgage lender would not mean a name change.
"Michigan State is not renaming its men's basketball team," the university said in a statement issued by associate athletic director Matt Larson. "While this is a new extension of the partnership for Rocket Mortgage with Men's Basketball, this is not a first-of-its-kind sponsorship for the Spartans or a new concept in professional or collegiate team partnerships."
What it actually is, however, is a little less clear.
The original press release remained on both entities' websites late Friday. MSU added its clarifying statement on top while maintaining the contradictory language below.
Further, MSU declined on both Thursday and Friday to release the terms of its new deal with Rocket Mortgage, so it remains ambiguous what the mortgage giant is paying, or what MSU has agreed to do in return for the new five-year-deal. Also unmentioned is any reference to what MSU will do with the additional proceeds.
Athletic director Bill Beekman, who was quoted in the original press release, declined requests for an interview through Larson.
MSU's statement goes on to say that what was billed as a "massive expansion" of Rocket's role as a sponsor is actually not new at all.
"It is a presenting sponsorship of the Michigan State Men's Basketball season, which is a common practice in both college and pro sports," the statement said. "This is nothing new for the school or the industry."
Since 2015, Rocket has sponsored Michigan State's athletic program. Rocket chairman Dan Gilbert is the namesake of the Gilbert Pavilion at the Breslin Center. In 2016, Gilbert and his wife, Jennifer, contributed $15 million to the university for improvement to the center, the university's Detroit Scholars Program and the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.
The News has filed Freedom of Information Act requests to learn the financial terms of the new Rocket deal as well as any details related to naming rights of any teams.
Earlier:Rocket sponsorship gives MSU basketball a new name
While financial terms were being withheld, the name involving the Rocket Companies Inc. brand will start in the 2021-22 athletic season. It will make the "company synonymous with Spartan athletics," according to the university news release. The sponsorship was managed by the university's multimedia rights partner, Playfly Sports Properties, according to the university.
Rocket Mortgage did not respond to Detroit News requests for comment or for the details of the agreement. Playfly did not immediately reply to a request for comment placed late Friday.
It's unclear why the press release states the name change for the basketball team or what prompted Friday's apparent about-face.
The name-change was quickly lambasted on some fan-oriented websites, with fansided.com, for example calling it "ridiculous" and sbnation.com terming it "shameless."
It's not uncommon for a team to have a presenting sponsor, MSU points out. Larson said the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor for the women's basketball team, but that has not changed the name of the team.
Although MSU says the credit union is a sponsor, there is no mention of the financial institution on the women's basketball team home page among the sponsors scroll at the bottom of the page.
Twitter: @mcharboneau
