Uber in deal to be ‘official ride of the Stony Brook Seawolves’

Uber and Stony Brook University’s athletic department are partners in a new, three-year campuswide sponsorship deal that will give all students and staff discounts on rides at select times.

In the partnership starting Wednesday that bills Uber as the “official ride of the Stony Brook Seawolves,” designated Uber pickup and dropoff points will be established throughout the campus, including at Gate 2 outside Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, Island Federal Credit Union Arena and other athletic facilities during select competitions, Uber announced.

These so-called “Uber zones” will be integrated into the ride-hailing app.

New Uber riders can enter promo code SBU15 to get their first Uber ride for $15. Students who already have Uber accounts can use their university email addresses to create new Uber accounts to use the promotion, said Chris Murray, general manager of Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment, a Manhattan-based company that negotiates corporate sponsorships for Stony Brook’s athletic department.

As part of the deal, Uber will sponsor in-game contests and student-focused marketing campaigns and provide discounts at select times over the three-year period.

Uber will direct its marketing and promotions through the university’s athletics department and Undergraduate Student Government, the latter of which is also a partner in the deal, but all 26,000 students as well as staff and faculty will have access to the benefits, the San Francisco-based company said.

Uber’s main competitor, Lyft, and taxi cabs still will be able to provide transportation to and from the campus, Murray said.

Neither the public university nor Uber would disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Uber has partnerships with 20 universities across the United States, but Stony Brook is the first on Long Island.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.