How IU Athletics, Merchants Bank Reached 20-Year, $50 Million Deal to Name Memorial Stadium’s Field

Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson’s phone rang Monday night while he was celebrating his anniversary with his wife, Heidi. It was Merchants Bank chairman Mike Petrie.

Dolson answered the call, stepped outside the restaurant and suddenly had a new reason to celebrate.

"Scott, we're all in," Petrie told Dolson. "We're all there. We're going to make it happen."

Once the call ended, Dolson started dancing on Kirkwood Avenue. Lost in the moment, he hadn't realized there were people eating outside.

But in that moment — with Indiana Athletics securing a 20-year, $50 million commitment that gives Merchants Bank the naming rights to Memorial Stadium's playing field and provides IU with both financial resources and enhanced student-athlete literacy opportunities — Dolson didn't mind entertaining an audience.

"Afterwards, I looked at this table and they were all watching me, and I said, 'That was a really good call,'" Dolson said, laughing. "Just a huge, huge day for us."

The announcement came Thursday and the formal signing Friday morning — but the seeds were planted nearly two years earlier.

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The journey to Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium started at a basketball game.

In November 2023, Indiana men's basketball played in the Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York. During halftime of one of the Hoosiers' two games, Dolson and Indiana President Pamela Whitten were speaking with new donors when they ran into Petrie, an Indiana alumnus who's also committed money to scholarships and other areas on campus.

Dolson, who's known Petrie for several years, introduced him to Whitten.

"I said to President Whitten, 'Mike is the chair of Merchants Bank, an IU alum who’s done great things in the business world,'" Dolson said. "And I said, 'Mike and I have talked at length over the years about (how) we’d love to get Merchants Bank, their name on our field.'"

Petrie jumped in.

"Mike looked right at me," Dolson said. "And (Petrie) said, 'Yeah, we’ve talked about that. But I told Scott, I want us to be part of a winning program. That’s important.'"

Dolson looked at Whitten, turned back to Petrie and told him that was Indiana's plan. Whitten agreed.

"That was kind of an inflection point where we really just put it on the table and we’re committed, he could tell we’re committed to building a winning program," Dolson said. "And he certainly wanted to be a part of that if it happened."

But at the time, Indiana football held a 3-8 record in coach Tom Allen's final season at the helm. The Hoosiers fell 35-31 to Purdue the following weekend to finish last in the Big Ten.

Indiana fired Allen on Nov. 26 and hired Cignetti on Nov. 30. Exactly one year later, the Hoosiers defeated Purdue 66-0, the largest margin of victory ever over their rival, to cap an 11-1 regular season and the school's first-ever double-digit-win campaign.

Dolson and Petrie crossed paths several times during the season. Their talks eventually turned into business.

"Last season, as we started rolling, I would see Mike and he would just comment that he really is extremely happy with where things are going, feels the culture change Coach Cig has created quickly," Dolson said. "And towards the end of last season, he and I started talking a little more seriously about what that might look like, what a long-term partnership would entail."

Dolson added that Indiana's historic 2024 season and the success Cignetti delivered in his first year helped pave the way for the $50 million commitment. Petrie, who noted Indiana is the losingest program in college football history, concurred with Dolson.

"If they had been 4-7 last year," Petrie said, "we wouldn’t be here."

Instead, the Hoosiers went to the College Football Playoff. They suffered a 27-17 defeat to Notre Dame in the first game of the 12-team playoff format, but the loss didn't squash the momentum Indiana created throughout the season.

Dolson acknowledged he and Cignetti were "paranoid" about letting satisfaction and complacency set in during the offseason. They were also steadfast in trying to elevate Indiana's newfound standard, which grew further with stadium and facility renovations during the spring and summer.

And while Indiana added new turf to both its indoor practice field and Merchants Bank Field, rebranded the coaching offices and built new suites inside Memorial Stadium, Dolson and Petrie continued talking in the background.

"The partnership, the financial literacy program, all really came together over those months since towards the end of last season," Dolson said. "Just couldn’t be more happy the way it really came together comprehensively."

But Indiana almost lost an important piece to the puzzle.

In late July, Petrie brought his entire Merchants Bank management team to Bloomington. Eight staff members met with Dolson and Indiana's internal leadership group to discuss the many different parts of bringing such a deal across the finish line.

The meeting came together quickly, Dolson said — so fast that Whitten had her schedule fully set before the meeting ever formulated.

But Whitten carved out 30 minutes to meet with Merchants Bank leadership, which Dolson said was a "huge, impactful" visit.

"I really felt it was important they hear from the president," Dolson said. "Just her vision for where we fit into the overall university and all the exciting things she has going on, because I knew that their confidence in her was really important."

Whitten discussed the importance of the partnership, not only for Indiana Athletics and IU football but the entire university. She noted how last season's football success impacted the rest of campus, and Dolson added several members of the president's cabinet have told him the same.

Merchants Bank was sold.

"I think it really meant a lot to them that she was there," Dolson said. "And certainly helped us get to the eventual touchdown we were looking for to get over the goal line."

Dolson believes the partnership is mutually beneficial. Merchants Bank will get its logo on the playing surface inside Memorial Stadium, further raising its profile. Indiana's student athletes will get access to financial literacy courses, while IU Athletics now has a deeper budget to make improvements across the athletic department.

There's also a deeper takeaway.

Merchants Bank's commitment makes a statement about Indiana football, said Dolson, who added the Hoosiers will use some of the $50 million on prioritizing players, maintaining staff members and making facility upgrades.

While Petrie spoke Friday inside Memorial Stadium's Henke Hall, he thanked Whitten, Dolson and Cignetti. He singled out Cignetti for leading Indiana to the best season in program history. Cignetti, his eyes wide but his face stoic, had little reaction.

The coach and his team already are focused on game preparation for Indiana's season opener at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 30 against Old Dominion — when his team, playing on Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium, takes its first step toward making more history.

And Whitten, whose role in the deal proved crucial, didn't hesitate to lift the standard even higher.

"Together, we'll carry forward the spirit of this moment of pride, purpose and the unwavering belief that the best of IU is yet to come," Whitten said. "And in that bucket of the best is yet to come is a national championship in football."

That fits the mentality of the winning program Petrie sought almost two years ago.