Artist rendering of the new 40,000 seat football stadium at UH – but what do we call it?
With UH announcing that they have now sold the naming rights to their new football stadium to the Texas Dow Employees Credit Union, we Cougar alums are left to find the lyric of how the new name, TDECU Stadium, rings anything beyond the cash register when it comes to mystical aspirations of greatness on the gridiron. But that’s already covered by the money part, isn’t it? In the particular realm of amateur sports called college football and basketball, the only people who pay the price of amateurism are the athletes themselves. “No money for you,” sayest the holier than all NCAA governing board to the athletes. “Most of you are going to need that college education that came with your decision to play here once you figure out that only a handful of you are going to be good enough make it to the NFL or NBA.”
How about TDECU Stadium? For $15 million dollars over 10 years, that’s pretty catchy and inspirational.
Look. I get it. Everything in sports spins on big money today. That TDECU deal guarantees UH an extra $1.5 million dollars per year for the next ten years that the Cougars, otherwise, would not have had. But as for the aspirational challenge of the “TDECU” name, It is doubtful that even the great Grantland Rice could do anything with that mostly consonant acronym mouthful.
Take me out to the TD-E-C-U,
Take me out with the CROWD!
Thanks for the money that we always LACK,
I’ll say the name if you then say it BACK!.
Let’s have fun at TDECU STADIUM!
If the COOGS don’t win it’s a SHAME,
‘Cause it’s ONE … TWO … THREE punts you’re OUT,
In the PARK … NAME… GAME!
The only thing worse than the acceptance of an unspeakable venue name would be those cases in which certain universities sold their venue names to inappropriately sounding sponsors.
For example, what if …
…. Rice played at Hooter’s Field?
…. Texas played at Whataburger Field? … Or even the Longhorn Steakhouse Park?
… Army played at Old Navy Field? or,
… Houston played at Kitty Litter Field?
I could sit here all day and watch the possibilities come to mind, but the point’s already made. This naming rights thing is not the biggest deal that ever came down the pike and we shall all survive it’s growth, even if we cannot pronounce the name that’s been purchased for one of our facilities that we built as the funding alumni group.
Happy Hump Day!
Tags: stadium naming rights
The Pecan Park Eagle 
July 9, 2014 at 2:25 pm |
UT’s baseball park, UFCU Disch-Falk Field, is also a mouthful that was named for a credit union and was originally called Clark Field. I assume the fans in Austin use some abbreviation. When additions were made to Bear Stadium in Denver, it was renamed Mile High Stadium. It was razed and replaced by Invesco Field at Mile High and is now known as Sports Authority Field at Mile High. However, most Denverites still refer to it as Mile High or Mile High Stadium. I assume the students at UH will come up with their own unofficial name: Houston Stadium, Cougar Stadium, Third Ward Stadium, TD Stadium, Union Stadium, The Den, etc. My choice would be New Jeppesen Stadium. Only newspapers and broadcasters will be required legally to vomit up the official name. Tuh-DECK-ooh Stadium?
July 9, 2014 at 3:16 pm |
Tom, points well taken, but Clark Field at UT was on the opposite side of the interstate from where Disch-Falk sits. It is the ballpark that truly had an outfield hill. Theirs required the fielder to run up steps to a rock outcropping. By the time I got to Texas, Clark Field was gone and the almost new baseball field was on the east side of I-35. The Horns had also notched one national title as tenants of Disch Falk by then. Just saying. 🙂
July 9, 2014 at 3:53 pm |
I went to a few games at Clark Field when I was in high school in Austin in 1963-’64 and just assumed the new park was at the same site. Thanks for the correction.
July 9, 2014 at 4:36 pm |
,,,”T ‘ Cude ” Stadium ,,, ” Duct ‘E Field ” ,,,,
” Duet ‘ C ” Park,,,
September 18, 2014 at 4:35 pm |
Yes! Finally something about jokes.