Representatives from many other schools--including Dartmouth and Princeton--say they need the corporate advertising to sustain their athletic programs.

As other schools join the corporate bandwagon, University officials have become critical of these schools, saying they have abandoned "pure sports" for no good reason at all.

Where's the Dough?

Athletic department officials at other schools do not hesitate to say that the decision to allow corporate advertising at their schools is first and foremost about one thing--money.

"People are looking around and seeing how much it costs to run these broad athletic programs, and they're looking for creative ways to pay the bills," Charles Yrigoyen III, associate director in the Countil of Ivy Group Presidents, an umbrella organization for the Ivy League says. "If money were not an issue, then our schools would maybe avoid advertising totally."

In fact, Ivy athletic department representatives say that revenue from corporate advertising is critical for the survival of their programs.

"To compete with a large school and what they put up, it's crucial for every small Division I school to have a key marketing department and play a large role in producing enough money to support the department and the sports in it," says Trevor Carlson, Dartmouth's interim assistant director of marketing.

"Advertising helps make our events better," says Katie Finkbeiner, Princeton's assistant director of athletic marketing and development. "It's extra revenue that we don't have."