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Michigan Leaves Adidas for Nike

H

Harry Caray

Athletic Director
Feb 28, 2002
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Adidas has now lost their 3 biggest schools (Notre Dame, Michigan, and Tennessee) in the last year.

I believe we have 3 more years left with Adidas. Never been a big fan of Adidas gear, and I don't think recruits are either. I wouldn't mind seeing Under Armour.
 
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I didn't know we were sponsored by Addidas. Shows what I (don't) know. I will file this under "team captains" as far as importance to me, meaning it isn't. Just win baby, and Victoria Secrets could sponser them for all I care. Well, actually I would care abut that. I'd care a lot.
 
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I wonder if there is a buyout in the contract to leave it early. Probably won't happen but would it make sense for the 2016 season. Just a thought.

Winking
 
the terms of the adidas contract are more favorable from what I have heard, however it still seems to me that the U has always been 'budget' minded when it comes to those athletic contracts.. in all honesty, it reminds me of something my cheap <insert relative> would do to save a buck, instead of showcasing our talent in the best apparel available.
 
Sharp & Benning talked a lot about gear brands last week. I never really gave it much thought till they talked about it. After listening and giving it some thought, I think Nebraska needs to switch over to Nike or UA.
 
I couldn't care less. Just stuck to the traditional unis and worry about kicking ass. Seriously, is this football or a fashion show? Would the '95 Huskers played better in Nike unis? I think everyone knows the answer. None of this shiz matters.
 
It actually does matter to some recruits who love the idea of good looking gear or alternative uniforms. And before you say that kids shouldn't care about that kinda stuff and just play football...I would agree. But I'm not a 17 year old recruit and if that stuff matters to them, it should matter to Nebraska.

Oh, that and the money.
 
It's all about money and we are one of Adidas top schools. This might help our negotiating power with them. Or they might say screw it and get out of college football all together since their main sport is soccer (doubtful, but a possibility.)
 
Adidas also recently lost their NBA contract to Nike. It has not been a good year for them.

And yes it does matter. Teenage athletes love gear, and most of them love Under Armour and Nike most. It might not matter as much if you are a school like Alabama or Florida State that has hundreds of top recruits right in their backyard. But when you are a school like us in the middle of nowhere, it is another strike against us.

Nike gear is pretty much the main reason Oregon (another school with very few in-state recruits) went from a nobody to a powerhouse in the last decade. I see more kids in Nebraska wearing Oregon gear these days than Nebraska gear.
 
bigredtank72 said:
It actually does matter to some recruits who love the idea of good looking gear or alternative uniforms. And before you say that kids shouldn't care about that kinda stuff and just play football...I would agree. But I'm not a 17 year old recruit and if that stuff matters to them, it should matter to Nebraska.
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Disagree. You sell them on the program and not the unis. Our traditional unis look bad ass because of how we played in them. Kids today are the same as the kids of years past. You show them how things really are. You mentor them to become responsible adults. You instil discipline, hard work and dedication. I'm seeing that out of our current staff. They needed stuff like this at Oregon State. They don't need to sell gimmicks at Nebraska. You sell NU on a packed Memorial Stadium, Bob Devaney, Johnny Rodgers, Jarvis Redwine, Mike Rozier, Irving Fryer, Turner Gill, Tom Rathman, Tommy Frazier, Ahman Green, Eric Crouch, Pork Chop, Prince Amukamara, "pancakes", Ndamukong Suh, Rex Burkhead, Ameer Abdullah, Tom Osborne, releasing the balloons, the Tunnel Walk, Dana X. Bible, Rich Glover, Bobby Reynolds, Dave Rimington, Will Shields, Grant Wistrom, George Flippin, Hail Varsity... we are oozing with tradition. That's how you sell your program. We've been at it since 1890. We hold 5 National Championships. 3 Heisman trophy winners, 4th on the all time wins for an FBS team. NU rules the modern era of football. Do you really think that it's the unis that are holding us back? If you say yes then you better have your serious face on cuz I'm calling you out on that.
 
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It sometimes matters to kids in FB but the one area you can't dispute that it matters is in basketball. I find it sad and disgusting but basically a lot of kids future paths are defined by which shoe company they are aligned with...and it sometimes starts as early as grade school and certainly in place when they start playing aau ball.

College basketball recruiting is extremely dirty and the shoe companies are a part of it. For the top kids they are already thinking shoe contract (they have a rep in their ear about it to) even if they are not one and done kids nor a shoe in (pun intended) for the nba. There are dozens of these kids, each year, that literally will only look at schools that have a specific shoe brand...it's a business decision that they are not quite making all by themselves.

But it goes beyond just the top kids. Because the shoe companies have not only infiltrated the hs/aau ranks but really have become part of the system they by nature influence where kids look. Even if it's just by getting a kid loyal to the brand which in basketball a lot of kids don't think of it just as a sneaker and actually believe that they play better in certain brands.
 
Obvs uniforms aren't something that is going to make us play better or worse, but you really can't ignore the brand power of a Nike or UA in college football compared to Adidas. Other people seem to see it too. Why else would everyone be leaving Adidas. Whatever we wear, just win baby.
 
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I honestly just don't dig much of the Adidas line. I wear a ton of Husker stuff, specifically on gameday, and a lot of Adidas stuff doesn't fit right, doesn't look good, etc. Just my opinion. And Damon Benning's.
 
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any money lost by switching should be more than evened out by our contract with the big 10 and becoming fully vested in their profits
 
Fwiw...for those who aren't sure if things like this matter...I don't follow recruits on Twitter but according to someone on our board there are a bunch of recruits (committed and non committed) tweeting about how psyched they are about the change.
 
bigboxes said:
Disagree. You sell them on the program and not the unis. Our traditional unis look bad ass because of how we played in them. Kids today are the same as the kids of years past. You show them how things really are. You mentor them to become responsible adults. You instil discipline, hard work and dedication. I'm seeing that out of our current staff. They needed stuff like this at Oregon State. They don't need to sell gimmicks at Nebraska. You sell NU on a packed Memorial Stadium, Bob Devaney, Johnny Rodgers, Jarvis Redwine, Mike Rozier, Irving Fryer, Turner Gill, Tom Rathman, Tommy Frazier, Ahman Green, Eric Crouch, Pork Chop, Prince Amukamara, "pancakes", Ndamukong Suh, Rex Burkhead, Ameer Abdullah, Tom Osborne, releasing the balloons, the Tunnel Walk, Dana X. Bible, Rich Glover, Bobby Reynolds, Dave Rimington, Will Shields, Grant Wistrom, George Flippin, Hail Varsity... we are oozing with tradition. That's how you sell your program. We've been at it since 1890. We hold 5 National Championships. 3 Heisman trophy winners, 4th on the all time wins for an FBS team. NU rules the modern era of football. Do you really think that it's the unis that are holding us back? If you say yes then you better have your serious face on cuz I'm calling you out on that.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it matters to recruits, but you just got me all fired up.
 
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bigredtank72 said:
It actually does matter to some recruits who love the idea of good looking gear or alternative uniforms. And before you say that kids shouldn't care about that kinda stuff and just play football...I would agree. But I'm not a 17 year old recruit and if that stuff matters to them, it should matter to Nebraska.

Oh, that and the money.
Click to expand...


I keep hearing the argument that recruits care. Yet I don't see Bama in anything other than their traditonal plain Jane unis and yet somehow they keep bringing in the top recruits. (cue the $EC jokes - and if thats the case, it still shows the unis arent that big of a deal)

I still say the non-traditional powers needed gimmicks - see Oregon - to attract talent. The Ohio States and the Bamas and the NDs haven't changed a lick and so other than the one game a year with teh alternatives.....I don't see this as a big recruiting tool.
 
Just because it's Nike, that doesn't mean crazy uniforms. I've seen people get fired up on Husker Board b/c they think if NU went to Nike we'd automatically have 20 different crazy uniform combinations. I can't imagine that would happen. Nike is a top tier brand, that is extremely popular with 17 year olds. They notice these things. Not saying it's a huge deal, but it's definitely noticed.
 
No Nike for me after they put Oregon colors instead of USA colors on the women's national soccer team.
 
huskerbux said:
I keep hearing the argument that recruits care. Yet I don't see Bama in anything other than their traditonal plain Jane unis and yet somehow they keep bringing in the top recruits. (cue the $EC jokes - and if thats the case, it still shows the unis arent that big of a deal)

I still say the non-traditional powers needed gimmicks - see Oregon - to attract talent. The Ohio States and the Bamas and the NDs haven't changed a lick and so other than the one game a year with teh alternatives.....I don't see this as a big recruiting tool.
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Bama is a Nike school. But the main reason they bring in recruits is because they have the best coach in college football and hundreds of top recruits in their region. We don't have either of those things. I would bet most recruits outside our region can't even locate Nebraska on a map, let alone know who our football coach is. When you have the geographical disadvantage we have, it doesn't help to be sponsored by an apparel company that most kids do not prefer. It becomes another thing that other schools can use to recruit against us. So I'm not saying Nike or UA would make us win championships, but it definitely would not hurt our recruiting, especially in the age of social media. Remember, most games were not even televised back in the day.

Also, most recruits today were not alive the last time we won a championship. We've been trying to sell our tradition for the last decade and a half, and it hasn't produced squat. We built that tradition by hiring coaches who found innovative ways to overcome the challenges of the job. I hope Riley and his staff can do the same.
 
Harry Caray said:
Also, most recruits today were not alive the last time we won a championship. We've been trying to sell our tradition for the last decade and a half, and it hasn't produced squat. We built that tradition by hiring coaches who found innovative ways to overcome the challenges of the job. I hope Riley and his staff can do the same.
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Oh, we can recruit with our tradition. Pelini was just a failure of a person that didn't use that as a strength. I see Riley & staff putting out the effort on the recruiting trail. Coast to Coast. NU was in on college football early in it's history. Devaney built it up and Osborne made it a dynasty. The base is already there and solid. We are a blue-blooded program. Like Notre Dame, we can recruit nationally. We just need the right coach. Look how awful Pelini was as a recruiter, coach, planner and yet he still won 9 games a year. But 9 games a year is not the goal at NU. It's like Pelini was handed the keys to a Ferrari, but didn't know how to drive a stick. The verdict is still out on the total package, but Coach Riley is hitting all cylinders on the recruiting trail. We'll see how he holds the reigns on our thoroughbred. This is the best I've felt in years (seven of them) about the future. We'll see how it all unfolds. As of right now Coach Riley is doing everything right.
 
Harry Caray said:
Adidas has now lost their 3 biggest schools (Notre Dame, Michigan, and Tennessee) in the last year.

I believe we have 3 more years left with Adidas. Never been a big fan of Adidas gear, and I don't think recruits are either. I wouldn't mind seeing Under Armour.
Click to expand...
Good move for Michigan.. They have to reestablish their brand and compete with Ohio, Penn St and Sparty. Hiring JH was a good first step and moving to Nike will even the playing field even more. I would like to see N go Nike but leave the outrageous unis alone.
 
that nike swoosh is the most gawd awful looking thing. then we'd also have people saying, "oh how nice, Nebraska and Oregon both have Nike gear! :D" laffable=notre dame setting the pace with Underwear Apparel.
 
St. Anger said:
I honestly just don't dig much of the Adidas line. I wear a ton of Husker stuff, specifically on gameday, and a lot of Adidas stuff doesn't fit right, doesn't look good, etc. Just my opinion. And Damon Benning's.
Click to expand...

Agree with the fit.
 
Nike shoes suck.
And so does Michigan.
 
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In other words, do you guys really think that any AD cares about the look of any said uniform? It's all about the benjamins that the apparel makers are willing to throw around. It's no longer producing a product the program wants. No, it's lead the school around like a ring through the nose to get them to do what we want. Gets old to think we are "that" school.
 
I guess unless you see both proposals you wouldn't know what you give up going to Nike. Can the Cornhuskers reject any and all designs and send them back to the planning board?
 
Jerseys should be made by a guy named Hal in the basement of the athletic building.
 
bigboxes said:
Oh, we can recruit with our tradition. Pelini was just a failure of a person that didn't use that as a strength. I see Riley & staff putting out the effort on the recruiting trail. Coast to Coast. NU was in on college football early in it's history. Devaney built it up and Osborne made it a dynasty. The base is already there and solid. We are a blue-blooded program. Like Notre Dame, we can recruit nationally. We just need the right coach. Look how awful Pelini was as a recruiter, coach, planner and yet he still won 9 games a year. But 9 games a year is not the goal at NU. It's like Pelini was handed the keys to a Ferrari, but didn't know how to drive a stick. The verdict is still out on the total package, but Coach Riley is hitting all cylinders on the recruiting trail. We'll see how he holds the reigns on our thoroughbred. This is the best I've felt in years (seven of them) about the future. We'll see how it all unfolds. As of right now Coach Riley is doing everything right.
Click to expand...

I agree with you that we SHOULD be able to recruit on our tradition, but it is definitely a lot more difficult. I think Riley is hitting on all cylinders, but in this pre Madonna day and age, you have to have some other card in your back pocket to help get kids. Too much BS these days.

As far as the apparel goes, I would love a switch to UA or Nike. Adidas is behind the times. Our alternates are absolutely terrible, and our apparel sucks as well for the fans. Adidas better pick it up. The traditional stuff is fine, but they need some new designers for the outside the box stuff.
 
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Harry Caray said:
Bama is a Nike school. But the main reason they bring in recruits is because they have the best coach in college football and hundreds of top recruits in their region. We don't have either of those things. I would bet most recruits outside our region can't even locate Nebraska on a map, let alone know who our football coach is. When you have the geographical disadvantage we have, it doesn't help to be sponsored by an apparel company that most kids do not prefer. It becomes another thing that other schools can use to recruit against us. So I'm not saying Nike or UA would make us win championships, but it definitely would not hurt our recruiting, especially in the age of social media. Remember, most games were not even televised back in the day.

Also, most recruits today were not alive the last time we won a championship. We've been trying to sell our tradition for the last decade and a half, and it hasn't produced squat. We built that tradition by hiring coaches who found innovative ways to overcome the challenges of the job. I hope Riley and his staff can do the same.
Click to expand...

Yep....fully aware Bama is a Nike school. And have they changed anything noticable about the unis over the last decade?
You are correct as to why they are able to bring in recruits......and thats the point. Nike had nothing to do with it....winning is everything.
Before Saban arrived, Bama had been thru many years of what we have going on now. And again, uniforms had nothing to do with it.
As for the geography, do you really think a recruit outside the Alabama region could pick it out on a map?
To most, Nebraska is in the middle and Alabama is in the south. They couldn't pick it out of a lineup with Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana.
I'd say there are five states that everyone could pick out on a map.....Florida, Texas, California, Hawaii and Alaska. The rest fall into your geographical disadvantage.
If Addidas keeps sending the biggest check, take it and run. And then go win!
 
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Great article. That is a lot of money spent. The business geek in me would love to know ROI for Adidas with NU. Do they have a clause if NU doesn't perform well and doesn't make television?
 
Harry Caray said:
Regardless, it will be interesting to see what Adidas offers us in 2018. Adidas wasn't willing to outbid Nike for Tennessee this year. I'm surprised Nike was willing to pay Tennessee more than Adidas, considering the Vols have been even worse than us over the last decade. It doesn't sound like Nike was very interested in us 2 years ago.
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It's still up in the air, but Tennessee's stock could be rising. They have done some serious recruiting in the last few years, and continue to do well in recruiting. If they can finally put something together on the field they could blow up. Pretty good investment in my opinion for Nike. I would buy Tennessee right now.
 
Screw it. Be unique and go old school back to Converse or Puma.

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