reeb- ucks

[Krona]

i read a blurb in the eugene weekly about spring practices. it cited comments by coach mike belotti about nike having too much say on uniform choices and they are close to a deal with reebok to fit the team. this is big since phil knight pumps a lot of dough into the oregon programs. from my understanding, nike owns the "o" as well as the wordmark. it means big changes will go down if this thing follows through. anyone want to take a shot?

[Waffles]

Wow...I've always kind of identified Oregon as the flagship Nike school. That would be a huge blow.

[pcgd]

that would be a huge blow...it was my understanding that reebok was letting everyone take the college sports and they just wanted the pro sports...all of them.

[slapshot]

What better kick-to-the-crotch to Nike than Reebok sponsoring their flagship university, in their own hometown too? I always thought Beaverton, Oregon and Nike were all synonymous.

[DEAD!]

I figured if any company was going to replace Nike, it would be Adidas because it's USA headquarters are based in Oregon, no?

[ebod39]

let me send a query to some folks at the swoosh and see what the word is on this topic.

[iowahoo]

As long as they don't have the hi-lighter unis, it would be ok.

I think Nike paid for most of a new , spectacular football buidling with climate control lockers in the team's locker room.

[rbripley]

Oh please, oh please, oh please let this be true! Anything to allow U of O rebrand and get rid of the Star Trekkian pajamas they wear!

[Frylock]

I figured if any company was going to replace Nike, it would be Adidas because it's USA headquarters are based in Oregon, no?

You are correct, sir! Adidas' USA headquarters is in Portland. Of course, Nike is HQ'd in Beaverton, and back when Reebok owned Avia Shoes, Avia was HQ'd in Beaverton.

As for Nike no longer doing the Ducks unis, that would certainly be an interesting scenario. But remember fellas, just because Nike may not have ties to the Ducks by supplying gear at some point, Phil Knight will always be a U of O grad, and he can donate his money at any time he chooses.

Furthermore, after talking about the Ducks, I feel I need to wash my mouth out with soap and water...

GO BEAVERS!!!!!!!

[gordie_delini]

first of all, to that last reply, DEATH TO THE BEAVERS!!!!!!!

secondly, as a student at UO, i can confirm the fact that indeed nike does own the "O" trademark and the scripts that are associated with it. so for reebok to be supplying the unis would come as a surprise to me. i also havent heard anything about this, but i wouldnt be surprised if the rumor was true. but don't expect this to happen, as nike does own the rights to ALL of our athletic marks, so the licensing would be a nightmare for reebok.

as for phil, he still is an active donor to the university, and not only to the athletics department. knight has donated a huge amount of money to the library systems and to the research departments here at the university of oregon, and he has been a true benefactor to his alma mater.

and just for clarification: Nike is headquartered in Beaverton, OR, a suburb of Portland - not in Eugene. Eugene is about 2 hours due south of Portland.

go ducks - and as for the beavers, well.......at least its not washington

[DEAD!]

first of all, to that last reply, DEATH TO THE BEAVERS!!!!!!!

DAM YOU! (I don't care either Oregon or Oregon State, I just felt like making a bad pun )

[KCScout76]

Rebook rules!!!

[Krona]

!!!!!!!!UPDATE!!!!!!!!

I heard a bit more info today. apparently, oregon, being the pc school it is signed an agreement that the school would only contract companys(school wide, not just athletic) that institute fair labor practices. enough said. nike has a horrid record with fair labor, so snip snip. nike gone. word is that phil knight went ape plop. the hell with him, bring on some 1/2, no 1/4 decent unis.

[Krona]

!!!!!!!!UPDATE!!!!!!!!

I heard a bit more info today. apparently, oregon, being the pc school it is signed an agreement that the school would only contract companys(school wide, not just athletic) that institute fair labor practices. enough said. nike has a horrid record with fair labor, so snip snip. nike gone. word is that phil knight went ape plop. the hell with him, bring on some 1/2, no 1/4 decent unis.

[MJWalker45]

Sounds like an echo in here

[ebod39]

you're update is correct, but a few years old. Here's the letter from Phil off of NikeBiz.com

Statement From Nike Founder & CEO Philip H. Knight Regarding The University Of Oregon

April 24, 2000 ? In recent days there have been numerous media reports and speculation regarding my personal philanthropy and relationship with the University of Oregon. As a lifelong Duck and in fairness to the many alums at Nike and around Oregon, I feel obligated to address this personally.

I was shocked on Friday morning, April 14 at 9 a.m. to find out that the University of Oregon had joined the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC). With this move the University inserted itself into the new global economy where I make my living. And inserted itself on the wrong side, fumbling a teachable moment.

Nike did not invent the global economy but has been determined to be a leader and to show its good citizenship. We are very, very serious about providing good factory working conditions and continuously improving the work experience for all 500,000 people who make Nike products. We also have been consistent in calling for one strong external code and one monitoring system for the entire industry that puts us all on a level playing field. We believe the President's and the Department of Labor's Fair Labor Association (FLA), representing a coalition of human, consumer and labor rights groups, industry and universities, is such a system although it is taking too long to get active.

Regardless of whether either the FLA or WRC get up and running, we are committed to having the best monitoring and remediation process possible, and to be open. Should anyone doubt that, today I have directed our labor practices department to begin a program to publish the results of all PricewaterhouseCoopers factory monitoring visits on our website beginning in May - warts and all. We have nothing to hide.

Because this issue has been so important to students on college campuses such as the University of Oregon, last fall we invited students to become monitors. Tomorrow we will be releasing the student monitors' reports on 32 of our college licensed apparel manufacturers.

Frankly, we are frustrated that factory monitoring is badly misconstrued. For us one of the great hurdles and real handicaps in the dialogue has been the complexity of the issue. For real progress to be made, all key participants have to be at the table. That's why the FLA has taken so long to get going. The WRC is supported by the AFL?CIO and its affiliated apparel workers' union, UNITE. Their main aim, logically and understandably, however misguided, is to bring apparel jobs back to the U.S. Among WRC rules, no company can participate in setting standards, or monitoring. It has an unrealistic living wage provision. And its "gotcha" approach to monitoring doesn't do what good monitoring should ? measure conditions and make improvements.

As even our most severe critics acknowledge, Nike, because of the strength of its trademark on campuses, not because of its actions in overseas factories, has been the specific target of criticism. We have been called "evil" by some.

Let's recap some of the things this "evil" company has done over the past several years:

* Increased minimum age requirements for footwear workers to an industry-high 18 years of age

* Increased wages for Indonesian footwear workers by more than 70%

* Established community-based micro-loan programs and on-site, after hours continuing education for our footwear factory workers

* Significantly improved indoor air quality in our footwear factories consistent with OSHA guidelines

* Disclosed the U.S. and global locations of the 45 factories that produce collegiate licensed apparel

If you want to begin to understand this issue, ask University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer one question: Ask him if he will sign a pledge that all contractors and sub-contractors of the University of Oregon as well as the University itself meet the WRC's "living wage" provision. Not just Nike. All of us. No university, including the University of Oregon, can meet the WRC living wage and other code standards for food service employees, grounds keepers, clerical personnel or teaching assistants.

My history with the University of Oregon goes back a long way. My father graduated from the University in 1934. From the time I was 14 years old it was the only college for me. The late Bill Bowerman, my mentor and co-founder of Nike, was a graduate as well as track coach there for 24 years. There is a strong emotional attachment for me with the University. I personally have given $50 million to the University of Oregon -- $30 million for academics, and $20 million for athletics.

Nike has a lot of pride and has been my life. It is the source of any dollars I am able to give. To accept the University of Oregon's endorsement of the WRC would be to place my company, our employees, our university-related manufacturers and their employees in unknown hands under undefined monitoring that has no protocols, no credibility, no role for the companies whose businesses are being monitored, and no independence. It would be a sell out of my company, my fellow employees and the progress we have worked so hard to make in our factories both here and abroad. I am simply not able to do that.

Nike will honor its contractual commitment. But for me personally, there will be no further donations of any kind to the University of Oregon. At this time, this is not a situation that can be resolved. The bonds of trust, which allowed me to give at a high level, have been shredded.

[OnWis97]

I like the idea. Having shoe contracts that place logos on the collar or sleeves is one thing, but I always thought Nike put a little too much of themsevles in their uniforms.

Whoever the shoe company, the University should hire someone else to design their stuff (hint: CCSLC), then the shoe company can produce it and slap their logo on it.

[ebod39]

Here's what my friend at Nike Team Sports had to say.

"Haven't heard anything on the Reebok deal...can't say they have a snowball's chance in hell to sign them away from us. Hell, stranger things have happened! BYU's new coach initiated that change...he really wanted to try and get back to the uniforms of old. We tried to hold him off but to no avail. "

[pcgd]

From the little information I have heard, reebok doesn't have a lot of interest in the college game right now. I'd imagine they are perfectly happy with their NFL, NBA, and NHL contracts. Once again, this is more my thoughts than anything else. But for them to sign away Nike's flagship school would be a pretty big blow figuratively. Its not like Nike's going anywhere.

[hormone]

Does Nike make anything classic (or should I say classy) anymore? They have to mess with everyone's design. They are getting so uncreative, that they are recycling their ideas. Oregon St. got the old Miami style. VT and now Clemson resemble Miami with weird stripes all over the place and thin stripes.