12/21/24
September 27, 2006
University of Phoenix gets naming rights to Cardinals stadium: The Arizona Cardinals played for 18 years at a college stadium in Tempe. Now the University of Phoenix, the nation's largest private university, will pay the NFL team $154.5 million over the next 20 years to put its name on the Cardinals' new home.
Yeah, Pink Taco Stadium would have been way better.
posted by Thisguy at 12:38 PM on September 27, 2006
Just goes to show that money rules everything.
posted by dbt302 at 12:41 PM on September 27, 2006
Perfect! A fake university for a fake NFL franchise.
posted by dusted at 01:09 PM on September 27, 2006
we will never have another soldier field if this trend continues
posted by Ohiojester at 01:18 PM on September 27, 2006
This is not a trend. This is just the way things are. It's only a matter of time before corporate logos are more prominent on helmets and jerseys than team logos.
posted by lex2000 at 01:30 PM on September 27, 2006
I be extremely ticked off if I were paying tuition for a child to go to this school. It's one thing for a corporation to put stockholder money for publicity like this but another for a college - rather public or private...
posted by yellowjacket at 01:45 PM on September 27, 2006
They must have an insane amount of money because they keep expanding the number of campuses they have, too.
posted by lex2000 at 01:53 PM on September 27, 2006
I would be embarassed to put a Degree from the University of Phoenix on my resume. Doesn't it just make you look like a joke? Hey, I bought a degree!!!
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 02:08 PM on September 27, 2006
University of Phoenix Stadium. That is worse than Pink Taco Stadium. Way worse.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 02:19 PM on September 27, 2006
Some irony.... but at least Arizona has a good stadium now.. and their team isn't that bad either.
posted by Kendall at 02:26 PM on September 27, 2006
Hey, I bought a degree!!! Uh, what 100% free university did you attend?
posted by Venicemenace at 02:33 PM on September 27, 2006
Yeah, no kidding. I'm still paying for my degree 12 years after the fact.
posted by lex2000 at 02:46 PM on September 27, 2006
They brought in an outside consultant to confirm the naming rights were spelt correctly.
posted by yerfatma at 03:00 PM on September 27, 2006
Of all the amazingly ridiculous things for a university (questionable) to spend $154 million on - this has got to be relatively high on the list. Methinks they're not producing a lot of doctors. Unless the PhD is in "Madden 03-07".
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:08 PM on September 27, 2006
I can see their ad campaign now. "Come to school here and get FREE Cardinal season tickets."
posted by dbt302 at 03:11 PM on September 27, 2006
"I wanna go to Bovine University!" "Me fail English? That's unpossible." - Ralph Wiggum, University of Phoenix, Class of 1996, Sigma cum Laude.... Season ticket holder since 2006.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:11 PM on September 27, 2006
I be extremely ticked off if I were paying tuition for a child to go to this school.
Don't send your child to that school then.
Not to derail this already precariously perched thread, but what exactly would exclude them from being a "true" university? Or did the Snarkosaur just go flying right over my head?
On preview: dbt302 - HA! posted by redsnare at 03:16 PM on September 27, 2006
university of where? what division are they are in? :P
posted by jakeamo15 at 03:21 PM on September 27, 2006
They brought in an outside consultant to confirm the naming rights were spelt correctly. Or they could have just submitted it in a link to our locker room for a run through.
posted by jojomfd1 at 03:34 PM on September 27, 2006
Uh, what 100% free university did you attend? There's a difference between paying tuition and actually completing an accredited college curriculum and simply writing a check and receiving a degree in the mail.
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 04:34 PM on September 27, 2006
The University of Phoenix isn't a diploma mill that sells mail-order degrees for "life experience" or crap like that. They have a real curriculum, 150,000 undergrad students, 50,000 grad students and have been reputably accredited for 28 years. Some people think it's too easy compared to traditional colleges, but read this discussion from current and former students and staff before dismissing it. My brother-in-law finished his bachelor's through a long-distance program similar to the stuff at the University of Phoenix, and it took two years of working on it nights and weekends. I'd compare the workload to what I did at a junior college before going on to a four-year school.
posted by rcade at 05:34 PM on September 27, 2006
I don't see how the workload could possibly be comparable: you don't have to take tests while still drunk, you can attend class when it works for you, you're never distracted by Hot Stuck-Up Bitch who ignores you all semester.
posted by yerfatma at 05:43 PM on September 27, 2006
Is that the school that is on the back of a MATCH BOOK COVER?
posted by JRWittig at 05:51 PM on September 27, 2006
Proud University of Phoenix alum Shaquille O'Neal (MBA) is gonna come in here and thrash all of you snobs!! Don't say I didn't warn you. It's apparently a for-profit organization, so I guess if they want to spend their money on naming rights, they can go ahead and do that. No endowment to squander. I hate to take the Bidwills' side on anything but when your next-best offer is Pink Taco Stadium, this looks like a pretty smart move.
posted by Venicemenace at 06:51 PM on September 27, 2006
I love it! A school without a sports program will have its name on a 455 million dollar stadium.
posted by Most_Voluble_Poster at 10:25 PM on September 27, 2006
They have a real curriculum, 150,000 undergrad students, 50,000 grad students and have been reputably accredited for 28 years. Someone has a Univ of Phoenix degree on their wall!
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 10:35 PM on September 27, 2006
LaKeR4LiFe, just out of curiosity where did you acquire your degree? I think people who have gotten a degree from University of Phoenix will tell you they certainly didn't "buy their degree" There are many Universities out there now that could be accused of selling degrees, which one did you go to?
posted by BaMaSLAMA at 10:57 PM on September 27, 2006
LaKeR4LiFe is currently 'buying' his degree at California State University Chico. Unless of course all of his classes are free. Chico State has long been a highly ranked party school.
posted by geekyguy at 11:11 PM on September 27, 2006
Someone has a Univ of Phoenix degree on their wall! I'm a graduate of the University of North Texas. I brought up the facts because the reflexive contempt for the University of Phoenix was so ill-informed, not because I have a personal stake in defending it. People love to slag other people's college educations as inferior. I heard it attending a juco (and even at UNT), I have friends who heard it about DeVry, and you're already getting some here about CSU-Chico.
posted by rcade at 04:42 AM on September 28, 2006
I don't see how The University of Phoenix putting it's name on a stadium is any different than any other company putting it's name on a stadium. It's well within the rights of the teams to sell advertising any way they wish. Check out any European soccer club and you'd be hard-pressed to find the logo of the actual team on the uniform. But you'd better believe you'll know who their main sponsor is. Sports ceased being just about the game ages ago.
posted by cabuki at 04:58 AM on September 28, 2006
People love to slag other people's college educations as inferior. I heard it attending a juco (and even at UNT), I have friends who heard it about DeVry, and you're already getting some here about CSU-Chico.I beg your pardon? I simply mentioned a notable fact about CSU-Chico. I think you are choosing to read it as a negative.
It's well within the rights of the teams to sell advertising any way they wish.Unless the it breaks the rules established by the governing body/league. You can be assured that the major American sports leagues that you are referring to have very strict guidelines regarding what is and isn't acceptable.
Check out any European soccer club and you'd be hard-pressed to find the logo of the actual team on the uniform. But you'd better believe you'll know who their main sponsor is.Not a big football, (soccer), fan, eh? Your inability to locate the crest, (logo), doesn't mean it isn't there.
posted by geekyguy at 06:28 AM on September 28, 2006
LaKeR4LiFe, you're really making a strong case for Troll of the Month. Kudos to you!
posted by The_Black_Hand at 07:34 AM on September 28, 2006
I brought up the facts because the reflexive contempt for the University of Phoenix was so ill-informed, not because I have a personal stake in defending it. I repeat - $154 million. On naming rights to a pro stadium. These people claim to be in the education business? Well, the business part sure seems accurate, but that's a complete waste of a substantial amount of educational resources. Ego has taken over. And that strikes me as the antithesis of S-M-R-T (I mean S-M-A-R-T!).
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:19 AM on September 28, 2006
I don't think $7.7 million a year for 20 years is a bad deal, financially, especially when you consider the attention-getting stadium they put their name on. The company that owns the university, the Apollo Group, earned $2.2 billion in revenue last year.
posted by rcade at 09:46 AM on September 28, 2006
I don't think $7.7 million a year for 20 years is a bad deal, financially, especially when you consider the attention-getting stadium they put their name on. No - it makes a certain sense from a certain perspective, but I'm Canadian and therefore have an ingrained distrust of things like hospitals and schools that are aligned as for profit mechanisms. This strikes me as counter intuitive, but I'm probably overstating it. I also have a vampiric thirst for maple syrup and an undeniable urge to hit someone in the face when I see a sheet of ice. Additionally, I really like beavers.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:18 AM on September 28, 2006
As opposed to just liking beaver, as we do in the States.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 11:05 AM on September 28, 2006
It's not opposed.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:12 AM on September 28, 2006
Chico State has long been a highly ranked party school. And......
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 11:32 AM on September 28, 2006
How much will tuition have to go up to pay for it? Glad I don't go there.
posted by somerville99 at 03:20 PM on September 28, 2006
geekyguy: I follow European football a little and even manage to attend some matches. I didn't say the logo (crest) wasn't there, I was just pointing out the fact that the sponsor's logo is more prominently displayed.
posted by cabuki at 10:19 AM on September 29, 2006
Cheers.
posted by geekyguy at 01:53 PM on September 29, 2006
Okay, NOW they've gone too far. (FYI, I know this is from yesterday, but I didn't get around to posting it.)