Williams Arena is approaching its 100th birthday, but the historic Gophers basketball venue could be getting a new name.
The Gophers announced Thursday that they are working with Independent Sports & Entertainment (ISE) to secure potential naming rights for the building that’s been known as Williams Arena for 75 years.
As the home of Gophers men’s and women’s basketball, it’s also affectionately known as “the Barn.” But with college sports going through major change, funneling money to athletes through name, image and likeness (NIL) payments, athletic departments everywhere are looking for ways to raise money.
“We have so many great corporations in the Twin Cities and nationally,” Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle said Thursday on 100.3-FM. “We feel like our basketball program on the women’s side is making great progress. We feel like we’re going to make progress with [new men’s basketball coach Niko Medved]. So we felt like the timing is right to find a naming partner.”
When the Barn opened in 1928, it was originally called the University of Minnesota Field House. It was renamed Williams Arena in 1950 to honor former Gophers football coach Dr. Henry Williams. He’s a college football Hall of Famer, but as the athletic department has noted, he didn’t have a connection with Gophers basketball.
The university hired a company two years ago to evaluate Williams Arena for possible renovation. But the landscape has already drastically changed with NIL payments for players and an expected ruling this spring that will allow schools to pay athletes about $20.5 million each year in revenue sharing.
Those rapid changes caused the Gophers to table Williams renovation discussions. Instead, they are looking into creative ways to generate more money to help in recruiting.
“If we can get a naming partner for Williams Arena, that’s money we can invest back into our programs,” Coyle said. “We just need additional money, especially as we enter this transformational stage of college athletics.”
