When Shakespeare penned his famous line – “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” – I don’t know that he had DATCU Stadium in mind. We like to think maybe he did?
The name-changing history
Since 2023 when DATCU signed the naming rights agreement with Mean Green Athletics, we have fielded a few questions about our motivation for planting our flag at midfield of the University of North Texas football stadium and changing the name of this particular green rose.
For some, it seemed perhaps random or a bit out of the ordinary. In reality, it was a culmination of years of partnership between our credit union and the university. DATCU frequently sponsored faculty and staff orientations, athletic fundraising events, student groups, and new student welcome weeks. We weren’t unknown to Mean Green nation.
In fact, we were created by UNT educators. Our story began in 1936 when a handful of professors at Texas State Normal College decided to pool their money together and protect against the turbulent waters of post-Depression America. With roughly $600, thirteen teachers from the North Texas area created a credit union for teachers and run by teachers. It turned out to be a pretty smart idea, and one that linked DATCU and the university forever.
Local Impact
It is an origin story that explains our unique relationship and helps explain why we wanted to formalize our partnership with a contract that consolidated our past history, current engagement, and numerous sponsorships into one convenient contract. From Student Affairs to Human Resources and the Alumni Association, we put everything into a mutually beneficial agreement and relied on UNT to help us make the biggest impact for students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
It is very similar to what we have done with several local school districts. Since 2016, DATCU has provided more than $9.5 million dollars to schools and universities in the North Texas area. In 2018 and 2019, we helped districts purchase scoreboards for athletic facilities and secured sponsorships of various events over the span of ten years. We have always been involved in back-to-school fairs and education foundations that provide teacher grants and student scholarships. This local participation set a precedent we followed when it came to DATCU Stadium.
We also don’t stop with education when it comes to our philanthropy. Many of our executives serve on area non-profit boards, and we commit annual pledges to each of them. When you bank with DATCU, you know you are supporting local business and organizations that improve our quality of life.
The not-for-profit model
“People helping people” is a common mantra in the credit union industry. It speaks to why credit unions were originally created – to protect the financial assets of a group of people and to make sure each member has access to resources needed to meet their financial goals. At DATCU, it’s no different and it means we don’t send profits to far-away shareholders. We keep them local and return them to members in the form of dividends and competitiveinterest rates on loans and savings products.
It also means when we have the chance to invest in our community, we will do so with prudence and respect for our original mission. Taking the opportunity to support a university that has meant so much to our credit union and to North Texas in general meant living out our goal of helping people.
