With the recent announcement that PNC Financial will be sponsoring the Spring Game for the University of Michigan, it highlights for Wolverine fans something that has been a large trend in sports, both collegiate and professional: commercialization. The capability of teams to sell themselves and their stadiums to the highest bidder has almost become a staple in the athletic world. It has, however, been mostly absent from Michigan football.
Commercialization is not necessarily something that will stain the tradition of Michigan, but it needs to be done carefully. As SBC learned a few years ago, trying to sponsor something as large and tradition-rich as the Michigan – Ohio State game will get you rioted out of town, Spartan style. PNC sponsoring the Spring Game is a small enough affair that most fans probably would not even notice had it not made the newspapers, although what the other ‘events’ are remain to be seen.
There is room for more commercialization at the stadium. Having an advertisement on the scoreboard is not disgraceful, if done properly. Absopure is already advertised on the big board in a commercial-like display. Things like sponsoring the Little Brown Jug, however, are decidedly ill-advised.
Selling sponsorships helps both the sponsor and the team, and should be pursued. Teams, especially college teams, get monetary contributions to projects (like the Michigan construction at Mott Children’s Hospital) or to help keep the sports programs in the black (Michigan football is not in danger of losing money, but what about some of the more obscure sports, like lacrosse?) So far, I think that David Brandon has done an admirable job introducing commercialization softly to the Michigan Nation. Let’s hope the trend continue.
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