Ahead of Texas' playing surface ad debut, what other SEC teams have on-field sponsorships?

Texas is now one of nine SEC schools to ink an on-field sponsorship deal after agreeing to a “hometown” partnership with Humann a few weeks ago. The deal covers all 20 athletic programs, and Humann branding will be all over Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, Moody Center, UFCU Disch-Falk Field and nine other athletic facilities.

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It is a multi-year agreement managed by Longhorn Sports Properties and will make Humann the official cardiovascular supplement partner of Texas athletics. Humann is an Austin-based cardiovascular health company that traces its origins to UT System research. 

Texas’ executive senior associate athletic director for external affairs, Drew Martin, said they were initially resistant to the idea of on-field sponsorships, but made an exception for Humann because of their ties to the university.

“We said ‘we’re not sure that this is something that UT is going to be interested in maybe ever,'” Martin told Sports Business Journal. “However, if we were going to do something with a company that has that kind of visibility, then it needed to be a company that could be across the board… that this brand was on par with the stature of Texas.”

Added Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte, “If we were going to make the decision to put a brand on our fields, courts and across all our athletics venues, it had to have an incredible story of The University of Texas. What began with Texas researchers has been used by our student-athletes for over a decade to help them perform better on the field.”

So what other SEC teams have on-field sponsorships?

Arkansas has agreements with Tyson Foods and Walmart.

Auburn has a deal with YellaWood that puts the company’s mark on the field.

Kentucky’s home stadium is Kroger Field and the supermarket brand has its logo on the playing surface.

Vanderbilt’s newly renovated stadium is FirstBank Stadium, and the FirstBank logo is on the turf.

Missouri’s turf will feature ads from Shelter Insurance and EquipmentShare.

Tennessee has a deal with Pilot.

South Carolina has one with Blanchard Machinery.

Alabama is adding one from a partnership with the US Navy.

What is the significance of all these deals?

Three big things come to mind. This is yet another move that makes college football more of a pro league, it means huge additional revenue for schools now in the post-House settlement/revenue-sharing era, and it’s a continuation of the SEC pushing for power in the conference arms race.

Clearly, the most significant impact is the additional revenue stream from on-field sponsorships. With the revenue-sharing era underway, and the future of NIL up in the air, securing extra revenue streams is crucial for schools.

Many speculate that this will also eventually lead to schools introducing jersey patches. Allowing advertising on jerseys has gained support from multiple athletic directors and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. However Conte has been adamant that Texas will never put an advertisement on its uniforms.

This is also another mechanism that will allow the gap between the wealthiest schools and the rest of the country to grow, creating a recruiting edge for those at the top of the sport. Wealthier schools will attract more lucrative sponsorships, reinvesting in facilities, coaches, and NIL collectives.

This also creates potential NIL overlap issues and network conflicts. Corporate partners may want on-field visibility tied directly to athletes, potentially increasing opportunities for NIL deals but also raising conflicts (e.g., Nike vs. Adidas schools). On-field sponsorships may devalue in-game commercials, causing networks to want to re-work advertisement deals.

SEC football is considered religion for SEC fans, and turning fields into billboards is sure to cause some dismay amongst the masses. This is just another facet of this new era of college football that has become increasingly commercialized and looks more and more like a professional league. As so many new mechanisms are ushered into the sport, it is a constant battle of innovation.

Institutions are perpetually searching for new methods for success in the modern era, and if history serves as evidence, every possible resource will be maximized in any way possible.

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Institutions like Texas.