Naming rights for college bowl games have become extremely popular. You can't blame a school for wanting to pool the money in nor can you blame the sponsor for exclusivity which will bring millions to their brand in one sitting. Still, the fact that some games like the Michigan-Ohio rivalry game who choose not to allow naming rights is also understandable. In 2004 discussions to allow naming rights for the annual football game the SBC Michigan-Ohio State Classic. After much deliberation the decision was made.
"Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and university president Mary Sue Coleman decided that giving a formal title to what has been known to generations of fans as simply "The Game" was unacceptable.
"The money was not the issue. We didn't even talk about the money," Martin said during a telephone interview. "It was a matter from president Coleman's perspective and mine in the final analysis that this was inconsistent with the values that we share with the greater Michigan family."
"As we attempted to move forward, it became apparent that this agreement could detract from the great tradition of the game itself," Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger said
(http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/2004-10-27-rivalry-name-nullified_x.htm)."
Such a decision says a lot about a long running tradition between two schools who value the long standing honor of the game and rivalry.
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