The clock on the M.A.C. Center’s main scoreboard hasn’t been ticking for a few weeks.

As the university searches for companies to sponsor a replacement board, winter athletes use a temporary replacement system. Meanwhile, the old scoreboard hangs unused above the center of the court.

The 15-year-old scoreboard received its prognosis in the summer.

“It’s a Daktronics system that’s 15 years old,” athletic director Laing Kennedy said. “The company told us we could probably get one more year with it – we got a half (year).”

Kennedy said the scoreboard can’t be replaced during basketball season because the procedure would require the M.A.C. Center to be closed for about 10 days.

After the board stopped working, the athletic department installed two side boards to serve as temporary replacements until a new one can be installed.

So far, the replacements have been sufficient, Kennedy said.

“It’s a good system to convey information from the game to the audience,” he said. The side boards display statistics such as the number of fouls and points scored.

Men’s basketball coach Jim Christian is also content with the current system.

“Everybody’s doing everything they can to fix it, so it’s not that much of a problem,” he said.

Kennedy said the university plans to purchase and install a new scoreboard sometime in August. “We hope to have (the new scoreboard) ready in the fall,” he said.

Though he was unsure of the dollar amount for purchasing a replacement, Kennedy said the university hopes to offset costs by finding sponsors for the new board.

“Our goal is to sell our corporate media rights to pay for (the new scoreboard),” he said.

Currently “a couple companies” are considering making proposals to sponsor the replacement scoreboard, Kennedy said.

“The inconvenience I apologize for,” Kennedy said. “Our goal is to replace and install (the new scoreboard) over the summer.”

Contact technology reporter Abbey Stirgwolt at [email protected].