Sponsors taking a wait-see approach to cancelling PSU support

quote:

---

The university-wide athletics program has dozens of sponsors, like Pepsi and AT&T, who are closely watching the university's next move. The school's football program is considered its crown jewel, bringing in $72 million a year, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Sponsors Chevrolet, PNC Financial, John Deere, the American Red Cross and healthcare company Highmark told ABC News they are not jumping ship yet.

Since former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 40 criminal counts on Saturday for allegedly abusing at least eight boys over 15 years, no sponsor has publicly canceled its contract with Penn State.

---

quote:

---

Rosner (professor of legal studies and business ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania) said the most important next move even more so than the next university president, is who they appoint as permanent head football coach, because of the importance of the football program.

Unlike other college scandals that have been contained within a particular college sport, or a university athletic department, the Penn State scandal has broad university-wide implications because of possible irresponsibility from a university leader, he said. Rosner suggested one way the university can begin to help the situation is to donate its ticket sales from Saturday's football game to a charity for sexual abuse victims or a sexual abuse awareness campaign, or starting their own initiative. Penn State alums have already begun fundraising for victims of sex crimes.

---

quote:

---

Rosner said some sponsors may not be able to exit from deals with the university unless their contracts included a "morals clause." A term like that would allow particular moral turpitude to void a sponsorship agreement.

But even if the football program were to lose all of the reported $72 million it receives from football ticket sales, fundraising and media deals with the Big Ten conference, Rosner said that is just a drop in the bucket compared with its reported $4 billion a year budget.

---