The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved a naming-rights agreement between the University of Southern Mississippi and Renasant Bank on Thursday, Aug. 20, officially changing the name of Southern Miss' football stadium from M.M. Roberts Stadium to Renasant Stadium.
Under the agreement, Renasant Bank will pay Southern Miss $13.7 million over the approximate 10-year term. The bank will pay the university $500,000 the first year and $1.3 million in the second year, with annual payments increasing each year throughout the remainder of the agreement.
The agreement goes into effect on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 and extends through June 30, 2036 for a term-length that is officially nine years, 10 months and nine days.
The agreement marks the first corporate naming-rights deal for Southern Miss' football stadium, which had been named M.M. Roberts Stadium since 1976. Roberts, a former Southern Miss football player, later served as a member of the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees.
Renasant Bank was founded in Tupelo in 1904 as The Peoples Bank & Trust Company. The bank took on its current name in 2004 and is currently headquartered in Tupelo.
Davis Wilson covers Southern Miss athletics and Hattiesburg news for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at DWilson@hattiesb.gannett.com or find him on X at @Davis_Wilson.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Southern Miss football stadium renamed Renasant Stadium in 10-year deal
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