Denton, TX — August 18, 2011
If you happen to channel-surf into a University of North Texas football game this fall, you’ll likely catch the name of the Mean Green’s brand-new field: Apogee Stadium.
But Apogee, the Austin-based information technology company that runs UNT’s student residential network, isn’t looking to cash in on that kind of exposure. The Mean Green will televise at least five games this fall.
“It’s certainly part of the mix, but I don’t really expect our prospective clients to be watching a [Mean Green] football game,” said Chuck Brady, Apogee’s CEO, who was in Denton last week to announce the second-largest college football stadium naming rights deal in history: $20 million over 20 years.
Brady views UNT, with its proximity to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, as an ideal platform to show off his company’s success in running the ResNet since 2007.
Apogee can easily bring prospects into the university for a visit, Brady said.
“Our market is higher education,” he said. “UNT is a very large showcase for us.”
The company, founded in 1998 to sell student long-distance service, now runs more than 50 campus and off-campus networks, said Brady, who founded the company.
Brady said Apogee wasn’t looking for a stadium deal when UNT pitched the idea.
“Their timing was very good,” he said. “They showed up at the right place at the right time, and they happened to have a new stadium.”