The apparel arms race is heating up.

[GHoppr]

FWIW, I wish we would go back to Russell Athletics.

THIS... At least Russell got the correct shade of crimson.

[drwho]

THIS... At least Russell got the correct shade of crimson.

Thank you!

[BamaHoHo]

THIS... At least Russell got the correct shade of crimson.

I worked at Lang's Sporting Goods in the '80s. At that time they had to get their uniforms through a dealer. They got them from us. The color was actually Cardinal not Crimson. Back then there was only three shades of red. Scarlet, Cardinal and Maroon.-

[TIDE-HSV]

I worked at Lang's Sporting Goods in the '80s. At that time they had to get their uniforms through a dealer. They got them from us. The color was actually Cardinal not Crimson. Back then there was only three shades of red. Scarlet, Cardinal and Maroon.-

That's interesting. I started at UA back in the mid 50s and our jerseys were much darker then. This was before the visiting team had to wear white for TV contrast and I remember one game against MSU at homecoming when it was hard to distinguish between the two colors...

[gtowntide]

If you look at Stanford's unis they look like ours when Russell was our supplier. I'm ok with staying with Nike but they're going to have to sign a big check!

[GrayTide]

Is it the jerseys or the helmets that are not quite right in color?
.

[Tide Rev]

I liked Russell because of the color and in the time when I coached HS, they had the best quality uniforms...durable, bright, comfortable and distinctive. Hate they are getting out of the team business.

[BamaHoHo]

I liked Russell because of the color and in the time when I coached HS, they had the best quality uniforms...durable, bright, comfortable and distinctive. Hate they are getting out of the team business.

Me too. We were their largest dealer in the Nation. I really think that they missed the boat in not getting a shoe line and manufacturing equipment.

[cuda.1973]

Russell Athletic is getting out of the team business. They messed up when Under Armour came on the scene. They should have gotten in the shoe and equipment business.

http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf...ease_maki.html

Here is the reason:

From the sixties onward, Russell was the largest manufacturer of athletic apparel and uniforms in the U.S. By the mid-nineties, it was the official supplier of team uniforms for 25 of 28 Major League Baseball teams and was the largest outfitter of NFL teams, according to SGB.
However, it faced competition for uniforms from Nike and Adidas, and began moving labor overseas. Russell was bought for $600 million in 2006 by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and merged into Fruit of the Loom.

As they used to say in undergrad school: "the proof is left to the reader as a homework assignment."

[Crimson1967]

Vanderbilt has more women's bowling championships than Alabama too.

http://www.secsports.com/article/231...-bowling-title


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[Jessica4Bama]

If you look at Stanford's unis they look like ours when Russell was our supplier. I'm ok with staying with Nike but they're going to have to sign a big check!

Are we signed through 2018 with Nike? That’s what I’ve read. Curious to see if the school will shop around, which I’m sure they will.

[230kv_barehand]

Are we signed through 2018 with Nike? That’s what I’ve read. Curious to see if the school will shop around, which I’m sure they will.

https://sgbonline.com/alabama-extend...-through-2018/

We're still working off the 2002 deal and keep extending so we might not shop around. I don't see Nike not matching or beating anyone though, especially since we are in the playoffs every year in football. Say what you will about other sports, but other than basketball and football no other sport is watched universally like those two sports.

[TomFromBama]

UCLA has 114 NCAA NCs (compared to Alabama's 27) - they're competitive in virtually every sport in which they compete. From a marketing standpoint, it's a pretty smart move, I'd guess.

For the record, only Stanford has more NCAA NCs (116).

And (at least when it comes to Dollars and Cents) they'd trade them ALL for even ONE title in Football.

Reality is, the monetary value of All their National Championship Titles, including their Men's basketball titles (and it's only one shy of a full Dozen) is probably a lot less than the value of this past year's Football NC. Frankly, even if a school won the next FOUR Men's BB tournament's, the monetary value of all 4 would be less than any two recent Football NC's.

I know there's more to a National Title than just the money value - still, "it is what it is"