Michigan State basketball undergoes silly name change

Sponsorship in sports is getting out of hand as the Michigan State basketball team will now be called the ‘MSU Spartans Presented by Rocket Mortgage’.

This college basketball season continues to get crazier with each and every passing day. We’ve seen games and seasons canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. Some of the nation’s top programs will miss out on the March fun this season. For the first time since 1976, both Duke and Kentucky men’s basketball programs will miss the NCAA tournament. The death of the blue bloods isn’t the only strange thing about this season. Now, it looks like we’re seeing college basketball sponsorship being taken to the next level.

Michigan State basketball lost in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament this year but they should still make the big dance. When they make their appearance, they’ll be answering to a different name than what most Spartans fans are used to.

Michigan State basketball program announces name change

On Thursday afternoon, the Michigan State basketball program announced a major expansion in its endorsement deal with Rocket Morgage. According to the University, the new agreement establishes America’s largest mortgage lender in Rocket Mortgage as the presenting sponsor of Spartan Basketball, one of the nation’s premier programs, for the next five seasons.

As a part of the deal, the university announced that the men’s basketball team would now be known throughout the Breslin Center as, “MSU Spartans Presented by Rocket Mortgage.”

Honestly, who has time to say all of that?

No one, apparently. Michigan State released a statement on Friday alerting fans that the team had not actually changed its name and that the school was simply exploring new partnership opportunities.

Have we taken college athletics sponsorships too far? Perhaps.

Michigan State does have bigger fish to fry as it prepares for the NCAA tournament. Do they have a chance to be a sleeper team this season?