The University of Illinois at Chicago and Credit Union 1 have reached a naming rights deal for the UIC Pavilion, an agreement that includes a provision to donate $750,000 to scholarships, university officials announced Thursday.
The Near West Side university has agreed in principle to a 15-year, $9.3 million deal to rename the facility the Credit Union 1 Arena, pending formal approval by University of Illinois trustees early next year.
Credit Union 1 has 23 branches — including three on the UIC campus — throughout Illinois, Indiana and Nevada.
“We are grateful for the generosity of Credit Union 1 and look forward to providing more scholarship opportunities to our students through this partnership,” UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis said in a statement. “Credit Union 1 has served the UIC community for many years and we are proud to have the Credit Union 1 Arena on our university campus as a visible symbol of our shared commitment.”
“We are proud to contribute almost $10 million through our Credit Union 1 Arena naming rights partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago, helping them to continue as one of the nation’s top universities,” Credit Union 1 Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Todd Gunderson said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear what kinds of scholarships UIC would support with the additional funding. UIC previously announced a new scholarship program that aims to provide free tuition to high-achieving Illinoisans, supported in part by a new state program to provide more merit-based financial aid to local students.
This naming rights agreement also continues a UIC strategy to leverage more private dollars and partnerships to support university initiatives. UIC also is partnering with a Texas-based company in building its new residence hall and academic complex, Harrison Hall, which is scheduled to open next fall.
University trustees are scheduled to formally vote on the naming rights agreement in January.
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