20 years ago, "The Game" almost got sponsored by SBC
A bit of a blast from the past, I got to thinking for some reason I remembered as a 10 year old kid being told that the Michigan-OSU game was going to be sponsored, but obviously never happened.
So started to do some searching. Turns out I wasnt just making shit up in my head! In 2004 SBC was going to sponsor the game as the "SBC Michigan-Ohio State classic". Both universities were to get paid a mere $500,000/year for the two deal.
It appears two days after it was announced both schools pulled the plug, I'm guessing from fan backlash. Anybody else remember at the time?
https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=1909426
https://www.thelantern.com/2004/10/sbc-deal-hung-up-editorial/
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:07 PM ^
I remember that the reasoning for killing it was Michigan Stadium's historic ban on in-field advertising. And then we got a noodle. And then that AD got canned.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:27 PM ^
"And then we got a noodle. And then that AD got canned." then Learfield took over advertising and the number of advertisements inside the stadium has increased every year.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:35 PM ^
Hey the Big Boy statue is timeless. But I feel like they could have given him a better looking painted outfit.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:38 PM ^
To be clear, I don't mind the Big Boy statue; I agree that I would like it more if they gave it a better paint job. It was the first thing that came to mind, and I couldn't find a photo of the Meijer ads in the concourses.
February 22nd, 2024 at 3:37 PM ^
I want to know wtf he did to get the #1 jersey. Braylon’s gonna be livid.
February 22nd, 2024 at 4:29 PM ^
Ehh, it's a concession stand. I think they're allowed a little slack for advertising.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:45 PM ^
I honestly wouldn’t mind ads on the field and in the bowl of the stadium if it was a trade to cut out all the commercial breaks. Like the ads in European soccer on jerseys and “in-stadium” (there’s actually no physical in stadium advertising from my trips Man United’s Old Trafford and Liverpool’s Anfield, it’s all done virtually for TV broadcast) can be a bit much but hey at least you only deal with one 15 minute long commercial break bookended by ~50 minutes of game. But knowing the way American entities run, it’d be on-field and in-stadium commercials in addition to seemingly infinite commercial breaks. So keep those ads out of the Big House.
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:49 PM ^
There is absolutely no correlation at all between TV ad breaks (controlled by the networks) and in-stadium advertising (controlled by the school).
Michigan is making a decision (the right one) to limit in-stadium advertising because fans want it that way and the potential money isn't enough to outweigh that desire.
February 22nd, 2024 at 3:50 PM ^
Agreed - I like no advertising in Michigan Stadium - the look is clean and traditional - perhaps the lone remaining item of tradition.
Personally - seeing “Safelite Field” just reinforces how certain institutions will sell out for a few dollars.
February 24th, 2024 at 8:17 AM ^
I agree, but having to sit there and watch nothing happen in the freezing cold in the middle of the game is a way bigger deal for me than the prospect of having ads in the stadium.
February 22nd, 2024 at 6:13 PM ^
The visiting fans sit right behind me, and I always hear how nice it is that Michigan doesn't have advertising.
February 22nd, 2024 at 6:04 PM ^
Another rumor is that Ohio canceled it because their fans wanted it to be called:
The SBC Michigan-The Ohio State Game.
February 23rd, 2024 at 8:25 AM ^
"And then that AD got caned" would have been just as appropriate and far more satisfying.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:09 PM ^
Somewhere I still have a 5-minute phone card (!) with the team helmets and SBC branding on it, they were handing them out around the stadium that fall. There was a magnificent backlash indeed, most everyone thought it was exceedingly stupid, and it got axed almost immediately.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:12 PM ^
I remember 2004 being the first of my nine consecutive trips to Columbus for The Game. Thank goodness the good guys finally won in 2022 and I no longer feel obligated to make that biannual trip.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:17 PM ^
I can't believe that was 20 years ago.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:20 PM ^
Yes I remember.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:23 PM ^
I bet you a glazed old fashioned donut this year’s CFP games have some type of sponsorship associated with them.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:26 PM ^
Just watched the highlights from 2004. That game sucked.
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:51 PM ^
I was there. Braylon's acute Dropsies showed up at the wrong time. Whole team laid an egg against an immensely beatable OSU team.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:36 PM ^
I remember getting the email announcing the partnership and bring pretty pissed.
I know I wasn't the only student.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:42 PM ^
wtf is SBC
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:01 PM ^
Phone company that ended up buying AT&T and taking their name
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:08 PM ^
if you really want to know the details (you probably don’t), read about the breakup of the bell system, SBC was born out of that
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:19 PM ^
I thought it was supposed to be sponsored by 1-800-COLLECT
February 22nd, 2024 at 3:39 PM ^
Correct me if I'm wrong, but SBC is also why we now have to call it the "Red River Rivalry" instead of the "Red River Shootout" no? 20 years ago they bought and sponsored the "Shootout" name and then disallowed any unapproved use.
February 22nd, 2024 at 3:58 PM ^
Yep, the context for this (IIRC) was that other rivalries, starting with Red River, were getting sponsorships. At that time, these kinds of deals were somewhat unproven ground and UM/OSU didn't anticipate that people were going to hate it.
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:29 AM ^
2004 was 20 years ago? no 1994? FUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.