From Wikipedia:
The facility was originally to be called Paige Sports Arena. This name was the result of a $25 million naming rights gift from Wal-Mart heiress Nancy Laurie and her husband Bill. Nancy is one of two daughters of Bud Walton, brother and business partner of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. Although neither of the Lauries attended Mizzou, they have made the school the main beneficiary of their philanthropy. “Paige” is their daughter, Elizabeth Paige Laurie. The primary reason for this generosity is believed to be due to the fact that the Lauries live in Columbia, Missouri.
The name was widely opposed by students, as Paige has no connection to Mizzou other than her parents’ monetary giving; she graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2004. In November of that year, Paige’s first-semester roommate at USC charged that Paige had paid her $20,000 over four years to write papers, prepare oral reports, and exchange email with Paige’s professors. After the charges were aired on local radio station KFRU and the ABC newsmagazine 20/20, the elder Lauries stripped their daughter’s name from the arena and returned the naming rights to the university. In October 2005, USC announced that Paige had returned her diploma to USC and was no longer a graduate.
While no major games were played while the building was called the “Paige Sports Arena”, several exhibition matches were contested with the offending name on the floor, causing Mizzou officials to put a new arena logo on the court.
Why does this not surprise me?
