Syracuse still trying to minimize Carrier Dome naming rights deal

As has been the case since the idea of a Carrier Dome renovation was first floated, the Syracuse Orange have been trying to figure out a way to get out of the original naming rights deal and secure a more lucrative sponsor for the building.

Back when the Dome was built, Carrier (then a local company) provided a $2.75 million gift in exchange for lifetime naming rights — one of the first deals of its kind at the collegiate level. Since then, sports has become much bigger business and rights like that could easily go for somewhere between $3 million and $5 million per year for a program like Syracuse.

But since renovations will no longer rending the Dome a... dome, it’s natural that the Orange would try to make the case that it’s a different building, thus rendering the old agreement null and void.

We’ve seen actions like this one in the past, but the latest — removing all 64 “Carrier” mentions from the football media guide, as Chris Carlson wrote about on Syracuse.com yesterday — is the most extensive yet. Past moves have included just removals in press releases, etc. This, on the other hand, actively edits copy to take “Carrier” out as a means to devalue the sponsorship. Carlson points out they even edited an old quote.

Personally, I’d love to see SU get out of the deal, just from the standpoint of athletics being able to take in more revenue every year. Without being a lawyer, however, I do think that naming the field “Ernie Davis Legends Field” potentially hurts the case that it’s a new building.

Beyond that, it’s questionable just how valuable the sponsorship really is at this point — for Carrier or anyone else. As ESPN Syracuse’s Seth Goldberg pointed out, it’s mostly referred to as “the Dome” nowadays and has been for a long time by locals.

For pro teams, that sponsorship is for the sake of national exposure and the constant mention on TV broadcasts, with some potential local boost. But for college, it’s almost entirely a local play, so the fact that every SU fan just refers to the building as “the Dome” anyway means any company that attaches their name to the thing automatically loses at least some of the value these naming rights deals would usually bring. But maybe that’s just my own take on the situation.

Read about that, plus the rest of your Syracuse-related links, below:

Syracuse scrubs all 64 ‘Carrier’ mentions from football guide; it’s just the Dome now (Syracuse.com)

A page devoted to the Carrier Dome in the 2018 version is now dedicated to “The Loud House.” The team’s listed home field and mailing address has been changed from Carrier Dome to The Dome. Even an entry in a historical timeline that was dedicated to the construction of the Carrier Dome, a project to which the company contributed $2.75 million of the $26.85 million construction costs in 1979, has been adjusted to eliminate the previous mention of Carrier.

The ACC Network launches this week, signaling a new era with new questions (News & Observer)

N.C. State did that and still spent approximately $6.6 million. UNC built a new studio, adjacent to the Smith Center, and spent $15 million. Both UNC and N.C. State will have to pay off that debt before realizing any profit from the network. ESPN and ACC Network officials have tried to spin the on-campus studios as facilities that will benefit their campus communities, instead of costly overhead that could take years to pay for themselves.

Discovering Dino: How ‘the Triangle’ helped Babers in a time of crisis (Syracuse.com)

The group calls itself the Triangle and consists of Babers and two of his roommates at Hawaii, Duane Coleman and Tim Lyons. All three men are sons of military fathers. Why do they call themselves the Triangle? “I think we take it much more serious than any of us ever thought it would be,” Coleman said. “They are my best friends and two people I love, can trust and depend on for anything.”

ACC: Who dominates outside of football and basketball? (ESPN)

Men’s cross country (ACC championship: Nov. 1, 2019); What you need to know: The only ACC squad to win a team national title is Syracuse, which won in 2015 in its second year in the conference. Who else is good? Beside the Orange, NC State boasts 111 All-ACC selections and 16 ACC championships.

We analyze Syracuse’s basketball play in Italy and what it might say about 2019-20 (Syracuse.com)

That said, nobody in Italy possessed the quickness or the speed to stay with him, and that will change once SU starts playing good teams. Carey acknowledged he is still feeling his way around the pace of the game, he’s still figuring out how to use different speeds in different situations

Former Syracuse basketball star Rakeem Christmas signs with pro team in Turkey (Syracuse.com)

Move college football bowl season to week 0 (Banner Society)

SU Men’s lacrosse assistant coach retires (LocalSYR)

10 college football upsets that could shake up September (Athlon)

College football: Players from New Jersey to watch in 2019 (NorthJersey.com)