As a multi-generational family of University of Connecticut alumni, our connection to the Storrs campus runs deep. We have cheered from the student section, celebrated historic victories and watched the iconic dome of Harry A. Gampel Pavilion stand as an uncompromised symbol of athletic excellence and university pride for nearly four decades.
However, the university leadership’s recent decision to allow M&T Bank to take over the exterior facade of our historic arena with aggressive, bright corporate branding represents a profound failure to protect UConn’s heritage. By reducing Gampel Pavilion to a corporate billboard looking more like Las Vegas than Storrs, administrators have permitted a financial institution to prioritize its own corporate utility over the best interests of the university community. This aggressive, garish and blinding display completely defaces what has long been an iconic campus landmark.
While we understand the financial pressures of modern college athletics, selling out our physical infrastructure is a short-sighted choice, not an inevitability. Truly elite programs prove that you can successfully navigate the modern era without compromising the dignity of your facilities. Several of the nation’s most historic and famous collegiate programs have fiercely resisted corporate commercialization to protect their heritage:
Notre Dame Stadium (University of Notre Dame)
Cameron Indoor Stadium (Duke University)
Allen Fieldhouse (University of Kansas)
“The Big House” (University of Michigan)
UConn is the Basketball Capital of the World, yet our administration has locked us into a 20-year commitment for an average of just $1.6 million annually — a staggering undervaluation of our athletic capital that places corporate advertising goals ahead of university tradition.
True community partnership cannot be entirely self-serving. This agreement forces the Husky community to reject a banking institution that views our landmarks merely as cheap visual property to be exploited for exposure. We urge the administration and the Board of Trustees to immediately work to remove all M&T Bank exterior signage, confine all corporate recognition strictly to interior spaces and return Gampel Pavilion to its original appearance.
We call upon all UConn students, staff, supporters and fellow alumni to communicate your displeasure, disgust, anger and frustration. Flood the inboxes of both the UConn administrators who permitted this defacement and the M&T Bank executive staff driving this corporate intrusion to demand they take the signs down.
Respectfully submitted,
Peter J. Watts, UConn BA 1993
Robin W. Watts, UConn BS 1993
Claire E. Watts, UConn BS 2025
Brenna C. Watts, UConn BS 2025
The Watts Family
Willington, CT 06279