Jones Stadium naming rights: Texas Tech seeks new partner after AT&T withdraws
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The 2026 Texas Tech football season could have a throwback theme every Saturday, at least in one sense: There’s a fair chance the Red Raiders might be playing at Jones Stadium — just Jones Stadium without a corporate sponsor name on it, for the first time since 1999.
Texas Tech’s 20-year stadium naming agreement with AT&T expires in June. Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt said this month that representatives for the telecommunications firm recently withdrew from consideration for a new naming agreement.
“They’ll continue, I believe, to be our exclusive partner in telecommunications,” Hocutt said, “so they’ll still have signage on the scoreboard. We’ll still do commercials and (public-address announcements) for AT&T, but they’ve decided not to continue conversations with the naming of the stadium.
“So we are in the marketplace for a stadium naming partner that could begin as early as next year. We’re talking to a number of companies and corporations. There’s interest there, but it’s one that takes time to cultivate as well.”
The venue name, Jones SBC Stadium starting in 2000, changed to Jones AT&T Stadium in April 2006 after SBC acquired AT&T. Tech senior associate athletics director Robert Giovannetti said last year the original agreement with SBC in 2000 was a 20-year naming for $20 million, paid out over 10 years. An extension with AT&T, finalized in 2007, was a 20-year naming rights deal for $21 million, paid out over 6 years.
Because the previous agreements were paid out early, Tech has been more than a decade without a revenue stream from the stadium naming rights in its annual operating budget.
That being the case, Hocutt indicated it’s not essential that Texas Tech have a new corporate sponsor on the stadium this year.
“Would we be OK going through a football season without a corporate partner name on the stadium?” he said. “Yeah, we’re going to take our time. It’s probably the most visible asset we have as an athletics department, so brand association is very important for us.
“So ideally we’d announce a new partner tomorrow, but we’re not going to, so we’re going to take as much time as we need, take our time to find the right partner to put their name on the stadium.”
Texas Tech athletics, like its counterparts across the country, has been increasingly conscious of developing new revenue streams with schools now able to share more than $20 million a year with their athletes. Hocutt said Tech athletics hopes to net $3 million from two nights of George Strait concerts in the stadium on April 24-25.
He also reiterated his openness to corporate logos on playing surfaces and sponsor patches on jerseys. Last June, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved college football programs selling on-field sponsorship advertisements for regular-season games.
Last month, the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a proposal that will allow programs to place additional commercial logos or patches on uniforms, equipment and apparel, beginning Aug. 1.
“We’re in the marketplace, absolutely,” Hocutt said of those possibilities. “We’ve extended with Learfield to be our multimedia rights partner … so they are our boots on the ground, pitching those opportunities. We meet weekly to get updates and have those conversations.”
Tech and Learfield jointly announced in November an extension that will create a new LLC for business development and Learfield Impact NIL services, and place the staff directly within the Tech athletics department. The objective of the newly named Texas Tech Athletics Partners LLC will be to significantly increase revenue from corporate sponsorships and expand athletes’ NIL opportunities.
Hocutt said once office space is built out this year in the Whitacre Center on the east side of the stadium, it’s expected to house 12 to 14 employees.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football: Who’s next sponsor on Jones Stadium — and when?
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