Syracuse University handling Carrier Dome name change all wrong

Syracuse University has failed to admit that football and basketball venue name of the Carrier Dome is dead, despite all indications that there will be a name change.

Earlier this week, Syracuse University removed all mentions of the word “Carrier” from their football media guide. Despite the media catching this, school officials have not come out and addressed the situation. The Dome is getting a massive facelift over the next year, and with that, it seems like signs are pointing toward the school looking for a new company to buy the naming rights to the arena.

However, Syracuse University won’t acknowledge these actions publicly, and they are making it seem like the name Carrier Dome never existed. Former All-American Dwight Freeney’s famous quote about the Carrier Dome is now misquoted.

Per Syracuse. com:

"“There’s no place like the Carrier Dome,” previous media guides attributed to Freeney. “It’s the loudest place. Nobody liked coming to play us there. You can talk to any of the guys in the NFL right now who played there and they’ll tell you. The Dome was the worst place to come to play.”The 2019 version uses the same quote but has eliminated the word Carrier, a trend that carries through the entire 254-page book."

They even removed the word Carrier from their timeline dedicated to the creation of the Dome.

According to Syracuse.com, Athletic Director John Wildhack said to a reporter in April that eliminating the word “Carrier” from numerous guides and websites was not a message to the company. He deflected the question to say:

"“I think our fans, you know, they ask, ‘Are you going to the Dome today?’ I’ve been a fan for 30-plus years. I’m an alumni. They say, ‘I’m going back to Syracuse, we’re going to the Dome for a game.’”"

Despite the media beating the University to the story, neither Wildhack or any school officials have addressed this, despite the writing on the wall.

So the question now becomes why? Why will the school of the Athletic Director address the name changes coming to the Dome? Is it arrogance, or lack of being held accountable? The media has clearly beaten the University to the story, but it’s still silence coming from the school.

Fans should understand why a name change is coming with all the renovations happening to the Dome, and frankly its time for a name change. With new stadiums being built all over the country for pro teams and colleges, it’s very normal for the naming rights to be bought by a company.

School officials should step up to the plate and address this directly. It would be nice to see Athletic Director John Wildhack acknowledge what the media has brought up, say that the Dome will no longer be called the “Carrier Dome” and that they will be negotiating with other companies for the naming right to the Dome once the renovations are complete.

The fans would understand, the media will be validated for bringing this topic to light, and it won’t make it seem like Syracuse University is trying to hide something.

So what’s the big deal Syracuse? Addressing this would not be a big deal. However, now that the school is misquoting one of the best players to ever play football for the school, and to trying and act like the name the “Carrier Dome” never existed is just wrong.

So what do you guys think? Why won’t the University discuss what’s happening to the Carrier Dome, or should I say “The Dome”?