Neyland Stadium Name Preserved for Tennesseans

Tennesee has announced that it will preserve the names of Neyland Stadium and Shields-Watkins Field while giving the company Pilot prominent signage throughout the stadium, including on the playing surface.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White said the partnership could be described as a naming rights deal without a name change.

Many college football teams are looking to find new revenue streams to address rising costs, including more money than ever going directly to athletes.

The 101,915-seat stadium is the home of the University of Tennessee Volunteers football team.

The financial terms of the 20 year agreement were not disclosed.

Pilot is a Knoxville-based operator of travel centers and truck stops, providing a variety of services including fuel, food, and convenience items for truck drivers and travelers.

The deal set in motion more than a year ago, said White, when conversation began with Pilot CEO Adam Wright and his team about a branding deal.

This was well before the National Collegiate Athletic Association tweaked its rules to allow schools to put sponsored branding on playing surfaces.

“There’s always been a rule that a stadium-naming agreement allows for corporate branding in the stadium, on the field,” White said.

“And we structured this in a way where we knew from the onset that changing the name of Neyland Stadium or Shields-Watkins Field was never an option. It’s way too iconic of a building.”

Pilot and the University of Tennessee have long been connected. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, a Tennessee alum, is the former CEO of the company as well as a longtime supporter of Volunteers athletics.

The deal designated Pilot as the presenting partner of the $337 million Neyland Stadium renovation project.

This includes new signage on the east side of the stadium with “Home of the Vols” along with the company’s logo, and a Pilot convenience shop in the concourse selling snacks and beverages.

“Simply put, even just saying (Neyland Stadium) preserved by Pilot to me is worth it,” Wright said.

Naming rights deals for stadiums and arenas are becoming more popular across the country.

Last week, Florida International announced a deal with Grammy-winning musician Pitbull that includes naming rights to the school’s 20,000-seat football stadium.

Shields-Watkins Field was named for William Simpson Shields, a Tennessee trustee who paid off a debt that was owed on the land and gave it back to the university, and his wife, the former Alice Watkins.

The stadium grew around the field and in 1962 it was expanded to more than 52,000 seats and dedicated to Gen. Robert Neyland, who served two stints as Tennessee’s coach for 21 years (1926-52).

“The impact he had on this program, as a coach, it’s his vision. That’s why the stadium’s there,” White said. “We were never going to change the name. So it was about how do we preserve the name and build a win-win partnership that allows us to reinvest in our fan experience.”