The University of Washington is renaming Husky Stadium after a corporate sponsor for the first time in its 106-year history. The school has struck a deal with Columbia Bank to rename the venue Columbia Bank Stadium, a $70 million arrangement running over ten years starting in 2027. It is now the largest sports naming-rights deal in college sports history.
The agreement still needs sign-off from the Board of Regents, but it’s expected to pass.
UW isn’t stopping at football. The university also reached a separate $30 million deal with Alaska Airlines to rename its basketball venue Alaska Airlines Arena. Combined, the two deals bring Washington’s athletic department $100 million in new corporate revenue.
UW President Robert J. Jones defended the sale as more than a branding exercise.
“This is the kind of partnership great public universities should be building,” Jones said. “It brings together two institutions with deep roots in Washington and creates opportunities that extend well beyond Athletics. Columbia Bank Stadium will be the most visible expression of the relationship, but the larger opportunity is to develop meaningful collaborations that benefit our students, student-athletes, alumni, and communities throughout the state while responsibly growing the resources that support our mission.”
Athletic Director Pat Chun framed the deal in similar terms, calling it a hedge against turmoil in college sports finances.
“This is a historic long-term partnership for Washington Athletics and the University of Washington,” Chun said. “Columbia Bank Stadium will be the most visible expression of the relationship, but the greater opportunity is what we can build together for our student-athletes, students and communities across Washington. At a time of extraordinary change in college athletics, partnerships like this help us create sustainable resources, expand opportunities, and continue investing in the people and programs that make Washington special.”
The stadium opened in 1920 as University of Washington Stadium and was renamed Husky Stadium in 1970, a name that stuck for 56 years before being sold off.
With $100 million now on the table for one athletic department, other public universities are likely to follow Washington’s lead and put their own stadium names up for sale.
