Florida Atlantic University's plan to sell its stadium naming rights for $6 million to the private prison company, GEO Group of Boca Raton, turned from a profitable deal to a public relations nightmare as NPR's Greg Allen reported.
Students protested shouting "it's not worth the price" and the school's faculty senate approved a resolution opposing the deal.
The deal was "called off" Monday.
But, FAU president Mary Jane Saunders told Allen that she would not have done anything differently.
"I think we just got caught up in a national discussion about the role of government, the role of privatization of government entities and I think that's what happens with this gift," Saunders said.
But the faculty and students objected to the deal because of private prison operators' record of allegations of rights abuses.
The prison group ended the deal in a letter on Monday stating it had become too much of a distraction for both organizations.
