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Michigan State University entered into a sponsorship deal with the Detroit-based company Rocket Mortgage last week, and the university’s men’s basketball team will now be referred to as the “MSU Spartans Presented by Rocket Mortgage” in stadium and athletics broadcast advertisements, according to a university press release.
After announcing the five-year deal, the university clarified in a March 12 statement that it is “not renaming its men’s basketball team” to include Rocket Mortgage. Matt Larson, associate athletic director for communications, said in an email that “exact placements and wording will be determined over the coming months.”
However, the company’s sponsorship will be acknowledged in MSU’s basketball arena and football stadium, on basketball team benches and clipboards, and on head football coach Mel Tucker’s headset, “making the company synonymous with Spartan athletics,” the release said. Rocket Mortgage branding will be incorporated into MSU-controlled athletics broadcasts started in the 2021-22 athletics season, Larson wrote.
Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Rocket Mortgage, is an MSU alumnus, and in 2016, he and his wife, Jennifer Gilbert, donated $15 million to the university for basketball stadium renovations, a Detroit scholars program and a disability resource center, the release said. A pavilion in the stadium is named for Dan Gilbert.
