Update August 2008: Inside the new jersey
We learned this week that Michigan will drop its long relationship with Nike and suit up with Adidas gear in 2008. The deal is worth about $7.5 million in cash and uniforms, and fans will be able to start buying Maize & Blue studded Adidas gear next summer.
While Nike is certainly the king of athletic marketing and team sponsorship in the US if not the world, Adidas has managed to capture a few high-profile clients such as the NY Yankees, Notre Dame & Nebraska football. And while Nike can boast the top athletes on its side (T Woods, Jordan, LeBron), Adidas has established a cultural following starting with Run DMC and its previous stranglehold on soccer.
On New Year’s Eve 1997 a group of friends went to a show at the Viper Room on Sunset in Los Angeles that featured none other than Run DMC. What we were doing in LA on New Year’s Eve in LA? Of course, we were there to watch Brian Griese, Charles Woodson and the crew win a national championship about 20 hours later. Yes, the Hollis trio performed ‘My Adidas’.
5 Comments
uofmfan
Adidas what the !@#@! was my first response. I then thought let’s look a little deep. It did not take long to come to the conclusion that this was not only a huge mistake but a lengthy mistake at that. I searched the internet for Nortre Dame gear and Wisconsin as well and came up short. . very short. I looked at mail order catalogs like Eastbay and found no Adidas t-shirts nor any Nortre Dame or Wisconsin gear period. There was plenty of Michigan, OSU, Texas, Florida, all of which was Nike. I am still holding out hope that since the size of the deal was so large that Adidas will give it’s all the the Michigan faithful, but I’m not holding my breath. Sure I will get an $210.00 authentic jersey (that’s how much Notre Dame and the rest of Adidas’s authentic jerseys are going for) but I’m afraid that there will not be much more out there for a true blue fan to get their hands on. Not the mention this will be the 3rd jersey redesign in 5 years. So until next summer I am holding my breath and buying every Nike T I can get my hands on (some in 2’s and 3’s), holding my breath and waiting. I hope Adidas proves me wrong, however, their track record does not leave one with any hope
scurvy
I’m from Boston Mass,a huge Wolervines fan, wear nothing but Nikes and this hurt as bad as a Sox player goin to the Yanks.
Curtis St. John
The away jersey looks a lot like West Virgina. Michgan has a great football tradition and they need to stick to the traditional uniforms regardless who makes them. I don’t like the road jersey at all.
zac k
the road jerseys have never been about tradition, so i dont see wat the big deal is over new jerseys
Bluexhox The Nikehead...
*Takes A DEEEEEP Breath*….
Okay, First Of I Wanted To Say I’m Glad To Say That I’m Not The Only One Whom This Logo Change Hurts. As Scurvy So Elequently Stated “This Hurts About As Much As A Red Sox Player Going To The Yanks” (Great Analogy But In Reverse For Me Seeing I’m A Diehard Yankees Fan). But Anyway, This Is About More Than Supplier Change, This Is About Tradition. Michigan Going Back To The 80’s Was One Of The First Schools To Really Adopt Nike As Their Merchandise Maker Fulltime (Along With Miami, Florida State, And Penn State) And The Swoosh Has Been Synonomous With The Big Blue And Maize “M” Brand For As Long As I Can Remember. Now I Know Some Might Be Thinking That I Might Be A Little Too Much Broken Up About This And All…lol But I Just Can’t See Michigan Wearing Another Brand. But When I Read The Articles About Why It Happened I Can See How It Was An Economical/Business Decision (For Anyone That Wants To Read It Go To http://www.Mlive.com)With All The Renovations And Construction Going On Around Ann Arbor, They Needed The Money (The Big House Renovation Itself Is Over $200 Million Dollars). And Then Outside The Money Factor You Look At This; Over The Past 3 Years About 8 Schools (And I’m Probaly Missing A Few More) That Were With Nike Went To Another Brand (Texas A&M Went To Adidas, Indiana Went To Adidas, Texas Tech Went To Under Armour, Kansas Went To Adidas, Arkansas Went to Adidas, SMU Went To Adidas, Utah Went To Under Armour, And Auburn Went To Under Armour). Now The Reasons? Who Can Say? It Could Be Fiancial Or It Could Be Just About Marketing In Reference To Wins/Losses. Who Knows? I Can Say This, When You Look At It, The Michigan Faithful Will Support Their Team Regardless But I Think It’ll Still Be An Adjustment For Everyone To Make Seeing The U Of M In A Different Logo Representation. Adidas Is Paying $3.5 Million More Than Nike Was Going To Pay And They Got A $6.5 Million Signing Bonus To Boot. Now I’m Drawing Shades Of One Allen Iverson Here, What Does This Have To Do With That You Ask? Well Check This Out. Iverson Got $17 Million In 1996 From Reebok To Wear Their Brand (Apparently, They Outbid Nike For His Endorsement). And While You Knew The First Run Of His Shoes Were going To Be Popular (Seeing He Had Such A Steallar College Career And Was A Popular Player In Addition To That) He Would Do Numbers. But As Time Progressed, Iverson’s Popularity In The Shoe Game Waned. He’s Still A Great Player But Reebok Can’t Move His Stuff Because Reebok Isn’t A Big Name In Casual Fashion Wear In General Like Nike Is. Sometimes The Brand Does Make The Man And It Jumpstarts Everything Else Around It. What I’m Trying To Say Is That I think Michigan Was Very Shortsighted In this Deal And Merchandising May Suffer Because Of It. Money Is Great To Have But it’s Not Everything; Sometimes You Have To Take Less To Make More Down The Line And That’s What They Should Have Done. But I Can Say this, It Was A Bad Sign Saturday When They Lost To Utah (An Under Armour School). Does This Mean That Michigan Is Going To Jinx Themselves Because Of Change (Hey They Got A New Coach Too. Don’t Get It Twisted, I Got Much Respect For Coach Rodriguez But He’s Gotta Have Results In Many “W’s”). We’ll See How It Goes……Just Do It I Say…:D