But for the right amount of money, they might bend the rules from here on out.

So in addition to old-school philanthropy, many are taking a close look at the kind of deals that have made corporate naming rights a staple of professional sports.

No one is about to slap the name of a bottled water company across the Old Well at UNC-Chapel Hill. But local universities are seeing the kind of money typically offered for "termed contracts" at arenas and stadiums. Many would like a piece of that pie.

"It's not an aggressive pursuit, but we weren't talking about this at all 15 years ago, and now you hear more and more of these discussions," said Nevin Kessler, vice chancellor of university advancement at N.C. State University.

The trick is getting into the game without alienating wealthy alumni who have given millions to their alma mater.

Wake Forest University balanced the two interests in the fall when BB&T bought the rights to Groves Stadium for an undisclosed amount of money. BB&T will hold the naming rights to the football field for 10 years, but the Groves name will be prominently displayed at a proposed stadium complex.

Performing arts centers are also logical places for universities to consider corporate naming rights, said Rae Goldsmith of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in Washington.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say the number of deals like this that we see today is about a 2," Goldsmith said. "But five years ago, it was zero."

Universities have been slow to auction their landmarks to the highest bidder for a simple reason: Traditional philanthropy has worked well, fueling capital campaigns that can top $1 billion. If the gift is big enough, the school often shows its gratitude by tastefully displaying a family's name.

That stands in stark contrast to corporate naming deals in which marketing departments calculate return on investment. Some individual donors, by comparison, don't even want their names used, and their business connections are often secondary to the gift.

A gift of $500,000 from Boddie-Noell Enterprises to East Carolina University in November is a good example.

The Boddie family has long ties to North Carolina and wanted to give back to ECU. After settling on a pledge to the East Carolina Heart Institute, university officials had to convince the family that a plaque showing the school's appreciation was in order.

"It plants the seed for others that maybe they want to do something for the university," said Mickey Dowdy, ECU vice chancellor for university advancement.

Barely mentioned was the fact that Boddie-Noell owns several restaurant chains, including Hardee's and Texas Steakhouse & Saloon, and might be considered an unlikely candidate for naming rights to a heart institute.

"Philanthropy and termed contracts are two different approaches, so you need to be careful how you go about it," said Hill Carrow, chief executive of Sports & Properties, a Raleigh company that helps put together naming-rights deals. "But you are going to see more universities finding room for both."

Not all schools are racing to embrace the deals.

Leaders at UNC-CH and Duke, for example, have discussed the idea but found no enthusiasm for it. They prefer to honor large gifts and repeat donors with lifetime naming rights.

"There is something very special about Kenan Stadium," said Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for university advancement at UNC-CH. "There would be a lot of resistance to that."

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