College Football 2014 Season

[JPDesign]

from a UTAD insider

But for alternates, there won't be a long-term back and forth on the design like we had with Adidas. They'll hand us an alternate and tell us when we're wearing it.

I'm sure it's not that simple, but that's a surprising comment nonetheless.

[hawk36]

Louisiana Monroe appears to be adding some gold to their helmets next season.

Florida A&M has some crazy new helmets as well. I like the snake skin pattern.

Green chrome with the pattern stripe is a great way to do the pattern. Logo over pattern is just too much.

[DS729]

Louisiana Monroe appears to be adding some gold to their helmets next season.

Florida A&M has some crazy new helmets as well. I like the snake skin pattern.

The bottom helmets with the snakeskin stripes and chrome base is actually pretty cool IMO. The rest is just hysterically bad.

And I like the addition to UL Monroe as well.

And meh, I really have a hard time believing UA and Nike will pony up enough to buy out A&M. It's not like their exactly in a situation of "need".

[ONUV]

Vols to 'just do it' in 2015
Brent Hubbs and John Brice | 1/31/2014
Beginning July 1, 2015, the "swoosh" is returning to the orange and white uniforms of all 20 Tennessee athletic teams as Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart announced on Friday a new, comprehensive apparel and equipment contract with Nike for the University of Tennessee's athletics department that will marry the Vols and the globally recognized "Just Do It" company into the 2020s.
The deal is an eight-year, $35-million agreement, which puts Tennessee in the top 10 among colleges with Nike agreements.

The completion of the deal ends a negotiation with Nike and adidas, Tennessee's partner since 1997. Under Armour and Tennessee did have discussions, but a formal proposal was never made to Hart by Under Armour.

Year Nike adidas
2015-16 $6.5 $4.7
2016-17 $2.4 $4.7
2017-18 $3.8 $4.9
2018-19 $3.9 $4.9
2019-20 $4.0 $4.9
2020-21 $4.1 $4.9
2021-22 $4.2 $4.9
2022-23 $4.3

"We were very thorough and deliberate in assessing and evaluating our options with our apparel partner decision," Hart said in a University release. "NIKE is the right partner for the University of Tennessee moving forward. We appreciate our current partner and the strong relationship we have had for many years. We will continue to work together through the end of the existing contract."

That thoroughness included members of the Vols' athletics department who traveled to Oregon last summer to meet with Nike executives, and apparel talks took place with multiple people in advance of the Vols' road football game at Oregon in mid-September.

The current adidas contract runs through June 30, 2015, but Tennessee will feel the effects of Nike in its bank account before then. According to a contract obtained by Volquest.com, via an Freedom of Information open records request this month, Nike will pay the University of Tennessee a $2 million signing bonus on July 1, 2014. The front-loaded contract also will give Tennessee an extra $800,000 in product in the first year to help with the transition from adidas to Nike.

According to those with knowledge in the negotiations, Nike's contract offered a more comprehensive deal. According to the pact, adidas' proposed contract reduced their guaranteed cash from a current $1.8 million annually to $1.1. adidas' 7-year contract proposal did offer more product, a total of $26.2 million over their 7-year offer compared to Nike's $25.2 million over 8 years.

Hart noted to Volquest.com in 2013, it wasn't just about money. Other factors included recruiting impact, quality of product, product availability for all 20 sports, customer service, and branding and marketing assets.

The recruiting impact was felt immediately when VolQuest.com broke the news of the impending switch.

"Not only will we be the best team, but we will be the best dressed. I'm so excited," 2015 offensive line commitment and Top 100 prospect Jack Jones told VolQuest.com.

Recently graduated All-SEC specialist Michael Palardy, a former U.S. Army All-American, echoed Jones' sentiments.

"I think it's a huge edge for recruiting in upcoming years," Palardy said. "Everyone knows Tennessee for the orange and white and the 'Power T.' Adding Nike into the mix will boost Tennessee's selling points immensely."

Meanwhile, four-star safety Cortez McDowell, who will sign with the Vols next week, took a more pragmatic approach in just emphasizing the Tennessee brand.

"I like adidas, and I like Nike; as long as the 'Power T' is on the side, I'll be fine with it," McDowell said.

Another key element in the decision was product royalties off retail sales of officially licensed merchandise where Nike offered a 44 percent greater return off of those sales than adidas. adidas' current contract and proposed contract was 9 percent to Tennessee while it's 13 percent in the new Nike agreement.

Part of that product availability also includes equipment as Tennessee will move to a Nike football, basketball, women's basketball and soccer ball. Softball and baseball equipment such as bats, balls, and gloves are not included in the deal and neither is golf clubs.

The contract runs through June 30, 2022 and Nike has exclusive negotiating rights on the contract from 12-30-21 through 3-30-22, but extensions can be agreed upon at any time. Also, worth noting obviously any changes in uniforms in any sport has to be agreed to by the University of Tennessee.

BONUS CASH

The new Nike contract will also award Tennessee for on the field and on the court accomplishments. In football, Tennessee receives $10,000 for going to the SEC Championship game, $20,000 for winning the league championship, $25,000 for playing in a playoff game, $50,000 for playing in the National Championship game, and $100,000 for winning the National Championship.

In men's basketball, the gift from Nike is $10,000 for winning the SEC Tournament, $25,000 for an NCAA Final Four Appearance, and $50,000 for winning the national title.

In women's basketball, the bonus is $5,000 for winning the SEC Tournament, $10,000 for making it to the NCAA Final Four, and $15,000 for winning the national title.

All the bonuses are cumulative meaning Tennessee would get up to $205,000 in football bonuses and $85,000 in men's basketball bonuses should it achieve each level of the bonus platform.

[dfwabel]

Look for A&M, ucla, Michigan, Kansas and Nebraska to jump ship with then. Def. Kansas with them saying that the new bball unis are ugly that's why we are wearing alts the rest of the year.

Michigan will take the deal with the most cash after their contract expires in 2016.

http://m.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/threads_and_laces/2013/12/how-michigan-remains-no-1-with-adidas.html?r=full

[PhlyBoy]

I hope so badly that Wisconsin ditches Adidas when it expires (2016 I believe) and goes to preferably Nike or even Under Armour.

[shaydre1019]

A&M's Adidas contract is up after this year as well. They will need to pony up big bucks or risk losing another school. The blatant copy & paste template that Adidas uses for all sports is very annoying.

Who's going to pay more for A&M than adidas? UA, maybe, but Nike sure isn't.

I wouldn't be suprised if Nike did. I have a different perspective than the rest of the country so i don't know how much exposure tamu gets, but the balance in power between them and Texas has definitely shifted. UT still has the upper hand, but there's not a huge discrepancy like their used to be.

If you told me that Nike was willing to outbid Adidas for Tennessee but not A&M I'd think you were crazy. With Sumlin and the new regime (topszn???) TAMU is on the rise and a hot commodity.

[ShlyKBMT]

These are my favorite Aggie uniforms so if the switch to Nike happens I hope they stay the same. Basketball bugs me the most and some of the baseball designs are terrible by Adidas.

[BrandMooreArt]

I hope so badly that Wisconsin ditches Adidas when it expires (2016 I believe) and goes to preferably Nike or even Under Armour.

for what reason? just the uni template? i wouldnt expect major changes to that primary uniform either

[gdu]

A&M's Adidas contract is up after this year as well. They will need to pony up big bucks or risk losing another school. The blatant copy & paste template that Adidas uses for all sports is very annoying.

Who's going to pay more for A&M than adidas? UA, maybe, but Nike sure isn't.

I've heard UA has made a pretty big cash offer. A&M averaged 5.26 Million viewers/week for its televised games last season. Only alabama had more people tune in to watch its games. Sure you can say, Johnny Manziel was the reason for the ratings, but with the recruiting that Sumlin is doing who is to say that another superstar isn't on the A&M roster next fall? The A&M brand is at an all time high, so I'm sure all 3 will be making a push to get their logo slapped on the football team's uniforms.

JM was the reason for the ratings and while Sumlin seems to be recruiting well, he has never recruited his best players (Keenum, Manziel, Joeckel, Evans, Matthews).

[gdu]

from a UTAD insider

But for alternates, there won't be a long-term back and forth on the design like we had with Adidas. They'll hand us an alternate and tell us when we're wearing it.

I'm sure it's not that simple, but that's a surprising comment nonetheless.

It's not. See TCU ditching the duds Nike made for them to wear in the Rose Bowl. Now Nike didn't love that, but they can't tell schools what to wear either.

[PhlyBoy]

I hope so badly that Wisconsin ditches Adidas when it expires (2016 I believe) and goes to preferably Nike or even Under Armour.

for what reason? just the uni template? i wouldnt expect major changes to that primary uniform either

Well yes template is a biggy, but across all sports. Basketball has had consistently bad uniforms over the Adidas years. Not always terrible, but bad. plus Adidas is a sinking ship when it comes to sponsoring teams in America. Under Armour is rising quickly and Nike will always be Nike at the top.

[Lights Out]

adidas really stepped up their on field product the past few years. i actually really like the techfit stuff and adizero cleats. however, the fan merchandise has always been lacking.

The TechFits have been terrible. The designs are stretched and warped, shoulder stripes are nonexistent, they now feature that annoying tire track pattern all over the uniform, and they couldn't even make Michigan's road jerseys look the same from player to player. Cheap and lazy, just like everything else Adidas makes.

[PatriotX03]

I love to see Michigan go with Under Armour, no particular reason just my #1 school and #1 clothing brand

[lilgump]

Seems like UW we get new jerseys next year. See this tweet/Instagram from one of the new coaches. https://twitter.com/CoachPease/status/429408233238065153

I'm guessing they were already in the works before the coaching change, so I guess the new guys are embracing it.

[Lights Out]

Good, the sooner Washington dumps those uniforms, the better. That piping design never looked good. Hopefully the new look is along these lines:

[lilgump]

Someone posted a blank template based on Oregons new jerseys. I wouldn't be surprised to see something that utilizes it.

[wonderbread]

Someone posted a blank template based on Oregons new jerseys. I wouldn't be surprised to see something that utilizes it.

Oregon normally has a year of exclusivity to nikes newest template before it becomes available to other schools

[hailstateunis]

A person close to the university says that Mississippi State is re-signing with Adidas for another ten years. Reason is because they are a top-tier adidas school, but would be a lower-tier Nike school.

[orangefaniniowa]

A person close to the university says that Mississippi State is re-signing with Adidas for another ten years. Reason is because they are a top-tier adidas school, but would be a lower-tier Nike school.

Well in about 8-10 years from now, they may be the only school in FBS to wear adidas outfits. With Tennessee jumping to Nike, you can bet other schools (UCLA, Michigan, etc.) will follow suit and switch to the swoosh label.