Rutgers signs $10m naming rights deal with SHI International Corp.

Rutgers University has signed a record-breaking naming rights deal with New Jersey IT firm SHI International Corp.

Under the deal, the Rutgers’ HighPoint.com Stadium will be renamed as the SHI Stadium.

SHI will also get significant brand exposure through in-stadium signage, stadium exterior signage, scoreboard branding, campus directional branding and on-field logo placement.

According to a report from local news site NJ.com, the partnership is a seven-year deal worth over $10m (€8.9m).

SHI will reportedly pay $1.25m in year one of the contract, with the fee increasing by $100,000 annually.

NJ.com notes that Pat Hobbs, athletic director at Rutgers, has more than doubled the value of the naming rights under the new deal.

The SHI deal was announced only three weeks after Rutgers’ previous naming rights deal with HighPoint – formerly High Point Solutions – expired.

HighPoint, a fellow New Jersey IT firm, had held the naming rights for eight years from 2011-12, reportedly paying $600,000 per year.

The SHI Stadium is a 52,454-capacity venue, and is the home of the Rutgers University athletics, American football and lacrosse teams.

It was known as Rutgers Stadium from 1938, when it was first built, to 2011, when HighPoint signed as its first naming rights partner.