NC State considering selling ‘naming rights’ to their Athletics Director position for five million dollars

UPDATE: NC State has informed us that Brian Murphy’s wording of ‘naming rights’ is not worded correctly. They are opening an opportunity to put money into an endowment for the position, and then having that position named after them. 

The NC State Board of Trustees is considering a proposal to sell the naming rights for the Athletics Director position, according to Brian Murphy of WRAL.

NC State Board of Trustees to consider proposal Friday that would sell naming rights to Athletics Director position for $5M with $3M to endowment for AD position and $2M to existing athletics enhancement fund.

— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) February 6, 2025

Yes, you read that right. You might be familiar with the idea of selling naming rights to stadiums, for instance, the Entertainment and Sports Arena as it was once known, is now The Lenovo Center. That deal was worth $60 million according to the N&O.

This is kind of the same thing, but they are selling and advertisement, they are opening up the opportunity to pay money into an endowment for the position, and then having that position named after them.

Strange? Yes, but it’s not unprecedented.

Stanford is already involved in this practice, with their athletics director, Bernard Muir, going by the title “The Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics.” And if you look at the top right of their website, you an see that they’ve also sold sponsorship to their website.

Welcome to the NIL world, where everything is for sale.

While it might feel icky, while it might feel like everything is now for sale and nothing is sacred, if you aren’t engaging in fundraising like this, then you’re being left behind. This is a pay to play world and whoever has the most money wins.

For those who don’t like this, don’t blame NC State. They aren’t to blame here. They are just trying everything they can to keep up. The blame for all of this falls on the failure to implement laws and rules around NIL.

Right now the only hope is for there to be some sort of federal legislation to create a national standard around college sports. However, there really isn’t any movement on this at the moment, so schools have to operate in the current scenario they find themselves in.

Back to NC State’s Athletic Director ‘naming rights’ proposal. It will cost $5 million. This financial arrangement would allocate $3 million to an endowment for the AD position and $2 million to the existing athletics enhancement fund.

Here are a few funny ideas…

“ The Cook Out “ Director of Athletics sounds good. @will_doran

— Richard Doran (@DoranLex) February 7, 2025

If Bojangles doesn’t immediately jump on this I’m dead.

— Mr. Bustin Clays (@citori525) February 6, 2025

So the Hardee’s athletic director. I’m down

— Chef Wolf 🐺🫎 (@ChefWolfHTT) February 6, 2025