While corporations are buying the naming rights of sports venues across the country, the president of the University of Iowa says Kinnick Stadium will keep its name.President David Skorton says he would never consider accepting a huge chunk of money from a corporation or individual to rename the stadium, unless the university had some enormous financial problem that he does not foresee. Skorton says he’s proud the stadium bears the name of Nile Kinnick, the only Hawkeye football player to win the Heisman trophy. Kinnick died during his service in World War II.Skorton says Kinnick was a household name, and there’s “still a magic” to his name. Skorton says Kinnick Stadium has an “aura” of tradition, and that will be preserved in the renovations that’re underway.Skorton says the brick, the semicircular archways, and other architectural features contribute to an overall experience that Skorton says Iowans have related to, generation after generation. Skorton says he and other athletic department administrators hope to ensure ticket prices don’t soar out of the reach of fans who’ve been attending games in Kinnick for years.
