In the last three decades, colleges and universities have seen public funding dwindle. At the same time, they've seen a rise in advertising and other outside financing.
Opponents of school advertising worry that it might compromise an institution's integrity, while some school administrators see advertising revenue as a much-needed source of income.
When that news was reported in the Missoulian, UM quashed the advertising deal. Since then, the cash-strapped history department has received numerous donations in response to the story.
“We will not be running out of toner for the copying machine this year,” said Richard Drake, history department chair.
While advertising in academic settings still causes controversy, it's been part of schools' athletic universe for decades.
In July, the University of Montana athletics department signed a nine-year contract with Learfield Sports that will bring in more than $6 million for the Griz.
Dodge joins companies like the Missoulian, Verizon and Community Medical Center that advertise in Washington-Grizzly Stadium and the UM Adams Center.
Part of the marketing agreement with Learfield requires the announcer to use the phrase “Dodge Red Zone” a prescribed number of times per game, said UM athletic director Jim O'Day.
The contract gives Learfield the right to sell advertising on everything from bathroom signs to coaches' headsets and stadium seat cup holders. As part of the contract, students and fans can expect an increase in advertising next year, O'Day said.
“It's the changing world of intercollegiate athletics, unfortunately driven by the need to produce private dollars,” O'Day said. “We cannot be a burden on the institution or rely as much on taxpayer dollars to run our program.”
Along with a sign at the end of the stadium, Community Medical Center advertises in the Grizzly football program.
This year, they have a new campaign called “We're fans too,” which shows physicians wearing Griz sports gear.
CMC spokeswoman Karen Sullivan said intercollegiate sports offers an opportunity for advertisers to show their support for Grizzly football, while getting their name out to a large group of people.
“We feel we should be part of it from a supporting standpoint and a business and marketing standpoint,” she said.
UM President George Dennison said that as long as advertising is kept out of classrooms and course catalogs, there's nothing wrong with it.
Even though the university considers the football field as an extension of the classroom, it is a public place and that means it's all right to advertise there, he said. And that advertising revenue is money UM needs. Through fundraising and advertising, the Grizzlies pay for nearly 70 percent of their intercollegiate athletic budget.
“We wouldn't be offering an athletic program if it were paid for entirely by the state,” Dennison said.
UM also allows some advertising outside of athletic facilities, and that revenue goes into the university's operating budget, Dennison said. In 2002, UM signed a $4.2 million contract with Coca-Cola that gave the corporation exclusive distribution rights and allowed it to advertise on campus. The move sparked student protests.
Katrina Johnson, 21, a senior majoring in anthropology, said she notices Coke's prevalence on campus.
“You see people walking around with Powerade and Coca-Cola bottles everywhere,” she said. “I don't know if having Coke on campus is compromising, but once it gets to the football field or in the classroom, it is.”
Johnson said schools should be more careful about advertising.
“If you can't have a history class sponsored by somebody, you can't have a football team sponsored by somebody,” she said.
Haley Weston, a psychology major, agreed.
“I think it could easily get out of hand,” she said. “I don't really like any of it. I don't like the Dodge Red Zone, either.”
Alex Molnar, director of the Commercialism in Education Research Unit at Arizona State University, said that when a school sells advertising it is selling its integrity.
“There's no question that every time a special interest attaches itself to a public institution it trades on its good name,” Molnar said. “When the university says the end zone is called the Dodge Red Zone, it is saying Dodge is a good citizen because it supports this university.”
The company could advertise in a newspaper or on the radio, and it would cost less, he said. But by advertising on the football field, companies are buying an association with the university.
“You don't see much advertising in prisons,” he said. “Who the hell wants to be associated with a prison?”
Dennison agreed that companies find the university appealing because of its good name - and a large student body to whom they can sell products.
“There is no question that they get some benefit, having an association with the University of Montana,” he said.
But UM only allows advertising in public places like dining halls and sports events, Dennison said. As long as those advertisements are kept away from course materials and classrooms, they don't undermine the integrity of the university.
“The school doesn't sell its integrity,” Dennison said. “I don't think there's anything inherently bad about advertising.”
The question of commercialism in schools isn't limited to college campuses. It has also been raised in Missoula County Public Schools.
School Board Chairwoman Toni Rehbein said that as students grow older, they are more able to think for themselves and think critically about advertising.
That's why MCPS allows some advertising in high schools, but not in elementary and middle schools.
Even in high schools, the district is careful about the type of advertising it allows on campus.
“As a board, we have decided that we want to minimize that impact in their school - a place they have to be most of the day, five days a week,” Rehbein said.
So when a local insurance company approached the district earlier this year about advertising on the back of student ID cards, the school board shot down the proposal. But the idea isn't off the table.
“We're still working on this through board policy,” said Scott Bixler, chairman of the district's Personnel, Negotiations and Policy Committee. “We're taking our time on this because there are a lot of nuances.”
Rehbein said advertising in schools is a trade-off. Advertising provides funding for the district, but it can also affect students.
Since 2005, Pepsi has held an exclusivity contract with MCPS. The school gets more than $80,000 by allowing Pepsi to sell their products in vending machines in Missoula high schools. Each of the 42 vending machines is a big, bright, buzzing Pepsi advertisement.
“It's a balancing act,” Rehbein said. “The contract allows us to hire two full-time teachers. We really have to weigh the benefits and the risks.”
In Pepsi's case, the benefits outweigh the costs, Rehbein said. And as long as Montana's schools are short on cash, districts will have to keep looking for ways to bring in funding on their own.
“It's not ideal,” she said. “The ideal situation is for our government to fund public schools.”
Weston, the UM student, said the same is true for colleges. In a perfect world, schools wouldn't need to take money from corporations, but college also needs to be affordable.
“Anything you can do to get people to go to college, you should do,” she said. “If having Coke ads means that we can have more people here, it's good,” she said.
Chris Arneson is a journalism student at the University of Montana and an intern in the Missoulian newsroom.
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