MANHATTAN, Kansas – On the heels of one of the most memorable athletics seasons in school history, K-State Athletics announced today a partnership with Independent Sports and Entertainment (ISE) to identify a potential naming rights partner for Bramlage Coliseum, home of Wildcat men’s and women’s basketball.
ISE is a sports marketing agency with a focus on revenue generation for sports and entertainment organizations through premium sales opportunities. ISE is heavily involved in college venue naming rights having successfully run six searches in the past 18 months totaling $130 million to university partners on campuses across the country.
“We are excited to work with ISE on this incredible opportunity as we continue to identify ways to advance our athletics program,” said Athletics Director Gene Taylor. “As we move forward in the Big 12 Conference, it is crucial that we continue to explore new avenues of revenue to then invest back into our student-athletes and their experience at K-State. We had a great conversation with the Bramlage family and as this process unfolds, we will continue to inform them of our progress and all potential naming ideas and options. They also know that in ISE, we have a partner that shares the same vision and understanding of the culture here at K-State.”
“ISE is honored to lead this search for the right coliseum naming rights partner at K-State,” said Owen Shull, Executive Vice President of ISE Properties. “We look to partner with universities with strong leadership and a commitment to make the partnership fully integrated across campus and in concert with their multi-media rights partner. We have both at K-State and are excited to work with President Linton, Gene Taylor, Coach Tang, Coach Mittie, and K-State Sports Properties to make it happen.”
It is a great time to be a K-Stater as new University president Richard Linton has Kansas State University on the rise to be the next-generation land-grant university, operating as a future-focused, inclusive and connected community that inspires discovery, creates prosperity, impacts society and transforms lives in Kansas and beyond. K-State was established in 1863 as the nation’s first operational land-grant university.
On the playing field, K-State took the college athletics world by storm in 2022-23. Chris Klieman’s football team won the 2022 Big 12 Championship and played in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and Naismith National Coach of the Year Jerome Tang and his men’s basketball squad – in his first season as head coach – made a remarkable run to the Elite Eight following a preseason poll that picked the Wildcats to finish last in the league. In women’s basketball, K-State returns All-American Ayoka Lee in 2023-24, after she set a new NCAA record for points in a game with 61 against No. 14 Oklahoma in 2022.
The coliseum opened in 1988, and fans have helped make it one of the most intimidating environments in all of college basketball. The K-State men’s team has won nearly 75 percent of its games at Bramlage Coliseum since its debut on Nov. 26, 1988. The 417 wins are the most at any home venue for the Wildcats, surpassing the 378 won at Ahearn Field House (1951-88). The Wildcats have earned double-digit victories in 27 of its 35 seasons, including a near-perfect 15-1 mark in 2022-23. Wins over Top 25 teams have also been a regular occurrence at Bramlage since its opening with 46 ranking opponents falling to K-State, including 20 Top 10 opponents and four No. 1 teams.
K-State women’s basketball owns an all-time record of 380-154 (.712) in Bramlage Coliseum, including a 29-7 mark over the last two seasons. The Wildcats are set to eclipse the 2,000,000-fan mark for women’s basketball games during the 2023-24 season inside Bramlage, as overall attendance stands at 1,968,336. K-State has ranked among the top-35 in the nation for average women’s attendance 19 times in the last 22 seasons.
