No matter what happened on the Arizona Stadium football field Saturday night, Iowa's athletics department might have looked upon the University of Arizona with a little envy. The Nike signs in the end zone of the stadium were signs of a fat deal between the athletics apparel maker and the university. In return, Nike gets exclusive uniform sponsorship for 14 sports, official shoe sponsorship in two sports, and advertising signs in Arizona Stadium and McKale Center, the school's basketball arena. Others include Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Penn State. Reebok is the official outfitter of Iowa's football team, while Nike provides apparel for the Hawkeyes' men's basketball squad.
Money is very much a hot topic in college athletics in Arizona.
The current issue of Phoenix New Times has a fascinating feature on how Arizona State crams advertising into every moment possible during its home football games. A barrage of ads are read by the public-address announcer at Sun Devil Stadium during games, often between plays. Many more commercials are shown on the large video-display screen. What a sorry thing to force on fans who are already paying good money to be in the stadium. Iowa fans who have attended games at Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena have gotten only a small taste of the possibilities.