SFC Scoreboard (Bottom Circle) Question

[Orange Roughy]

Why does our basketball overhead scoreboard at SFC mid court (bottom circle part that points down to the court), have State Farm Info on it rather than Illinois advertising? Does not even have Illinois colors anywhere.

I go to most every home game for decades (and certainly since the renovation) and it seems like it did not use to be like this. Seems like it used to be a Block I or something Illinois orientated pointing down to the court?

I get State Farm sponsored a lot of the cost of the renovation, but other schools have their own sponsors equally (or more $$$) invested in their arena and they still use their own symbols, etc. on their similar part of their scoreboard and not the info for the sponsor?

What is up here? How long have they been doing this (at least all this year)? Do they plan to change this? I hope they fix this.

 

[21ChampaignSt]

Why does our basketball overhead scoreboard at SFC mid court (bottom circle part that points down to the court), have State Farm Info on it rather than Illinois advertising? Does not even have Illinois colors anywhere.

I go to most every home game for decades (and certainly since the renovation) and it seems like it did not use to be like this. Seems like it used to be a Block I or something Illinois orientated pointing down to the court?

I get State Farm sponsored a lot of the cost of the renovation, but other schools have their own sponsors equally (or more $$$) invested in their arena and they still use their own symbols, etc. on their similar part of their scoreboard and not the info for the sponsor?

What is up here? How long have they been doing this (at least all this year)? Do they plan to change this? I hope they fix this.

I noticed this recently, too after I saw the bottom of MSU's scoreboard during our game.

Ours used to be similar. Not sure when it changed.

I agree that we cater more to State Farm than other schools to their sponsors. My belief, though I have nothing to back this up, is we were too desperate for funding and therefore had no leverage during negotiations. From the outside, it looks like State Farm got whatever they asked for at a relative bargain.

The flip side is, this is no longer amateur athletics. It's a business. Can't turn down any opportunities for incremental revenue. We'll have a sponsor on our jerseys soon.

 

[Illini in Italy]

I noticed this recently, too after I saw the bottom of MSU's scoreboard during our game.
View attachment 39205

Ours used to be similar. Not sure when it changed.
View attachment 39206

I agree that we cater more to State Farm than other schools to their sponsors. My belief, though I have nothing to back this up, is we were too desperate for funding and therefore had no leverage during negotiations. From the outside, it looks like State Farm got whatever they asked for at a relative bargain.

The flip side is, this is no longer amateur athletics. It's a business. Can't turn down any opportunities for incremental revenue. We'll have a sponsor on our jerseys soon.

 

[Frank the Tank]

I noticed this recently, too after I saw the bottom of MSU's scoreboard during our game.
View attachment 39205

Ours used to be similar. Not sure when it changed.
View attachment 39206

I agree that we cater more to State Farm than other schools to their sponsors. My belief, though I have nothing to back this up, is we were too desperate for funding and therefore had no leverage during negotiations. From the outside, it looks like State Farm got whatever they asked for at a relative bargain.

The flip side is, this is no longer amateur athletics. It's a business. Can't turn down any opportunities for incremental revenue. We'll have a sponsor on our jerseys soon.

This is all true. Another important point is that State Farm is a big-time national brand - they are one of the heaviest advertisers associated with sports of any company in America. (It wouldn’t surprise me if they are the THE largest buyer of ads during sporting events.) We’re not dealing with some local retailer or credit union sponsor here like a lot of schools - this is a company where they’ve also got naming rights deals with NFL and NBA stadiums. So, it’s a reasonable expectation that they’re going to have a lot more leverage to insist upon their brand being more prevalent compared to the more typical regional sponsors that most other colleges have.

 

[Orange Roughy]

Ours used to be similar. Not sure when it changed.
View attachment 39206

I agree that we cater more to State Farm than other schools to their sponsors. My belief, though I have nothing to back this up, is we were too desperate for funding and therefore had no leverage during negotiations. From the outside, it looks like State Farm got whatever they asked for at a relative bargain.

I agree with what you are saying here...and what others are speculating above too. And your picture above is proof I am not crazy and remember correctly too...so thanks for that. Not sure when it changed either...thinking just this year?

That being said, I think this is BS and Illinois should not stand for it.

State Farm obviously was happy with their ads and we survived without a few extra SF $$$ for a few years with us having the block I on the board (see your pic). It can't possibly be worth it to not advertise your Illinois brand on the floor like about 90% plus of the rest of the country does.

Not to mention it is tacky. Looks very stupid on TV too. People that notice it (in person or on TV) are likely turned off to State Farm for for forcing this issue rather than liking State Farm for it. Ineffective advertisement imo.

I really wish there was a movement now to get rid of that piece of State Farm ad and return the block I or something else pro Illinois to the bottom of our scoreboard. Of course the Chief would be ideal...but never going to happen. lol. I would be happy with the block I.

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

If this is in fact new to this season, which it appears that it is, I would speculate that it came with additional contributions to the athletic department/NIL pool rather than what was afforded for the renovations.

I don't like it either but someone has to pay for our Eastern Bloc All Stars.

 

[IlliniFan42]

I don't think it's a coincidence that this new ad appeared at the 10-year mark of the 30-year agreement. My guess is the school wanted more money from State Farm (because $2M is worth a lot less than it used to be) and this was the agreement they came to- more money and an additional ad space.

 

[PlayDeeBrownNote]

Why does our basketball overhead scoreboard at SFC mid court (bottom circle part that points down to the court), have State Farm Info on it rather than Illinois advertising? Does not even have Illinois colors anywhere.

I go to most every home game for decades (and certainly since the renovation) and it seems like it did not use to be like this. Seems like it used to be a Block I or something Illinois orientated pointing down to the court?

I get State Farm sponsored a lot of the cost of the renovation, but other schools have their own sponsors equally (or more $$$) invested in their arena and they still use their own symbols, etc. on their similar part of their scoreboard and not the info for the sponsor?

What is up here? How long have they been doing this (at least all this year)? Do they plan to change this? I hope they fix this.

 

[OrangeBlue98]

I agree with what you are saying here...and what others are speculating above too. And your picture above is proof I am not crazy and remember correctly too...so thanks for that. Not sure when it changed either...thinking just this year?

That being said, I think this is BS and Illinois should not stand for it.

State Farm obviously was happy with their ads and we survived without a few extra SF $$$ for a few years with us having the block I on the board (see your pic). It can't possibly be worth it to not advertise your Illinois brand on the floor like about 90% plus of the rest of the country does.

Not to mention it is tacky. Looks very stupid on TV too. People that notice it (in person or on TV) are likely turned off to State Farm for for forcing this issue rather than liking State Farm for it. Ineffective advertisement imo.

I really wish there was a movement now to get rid of that piece of State Farm ad and return the block I or something else pro Illinois to the bottom of our scoreboard. Of course the Chief would be ideal...but never going to happen. lol. I would be happy with the block I.

If that's what it takes for State Farm to pony up additional dollars, I'm all for it.

I harbor zero illusions about what drives college sports now. You do what you need to do in order to maximize revenues. If you aren't doing it, someone else is.

It's like what I said about college sports before paying players was legal. You could either figure out a way to make it work and be competitive, or you play by the letter of the law and you aren't competitive.

 

[Orange Roughy]

If that's what it takes for State Farm to pony up additional dollars, I'm all for it.

I harbor zero illusions about what drives college sports now. You do what you need to do in order to maximize revenues. If you aren't doing it, someone else is.

It's like what I said about college sports before paying players was legal. You could either figure out a way to make it work and be competitive, or you play by the letter of the law and you aren't competitive.

I just see most other places "maximizing" their NIL without this atrocity. Seems like we should be able to find a way to have our cake and eat it too like all the other top programs. Lean on State Farm and/or whatever it takes.