The apparel arms race is heating up.

Redwood Forrest

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Washington has officially switched from Nike to Adidas in the apparel game. In the financial arms race, those are significant numbers. Still, the crown jewel of apparel deals was Under Armour's 15-year, $280-million agreement with UCLA, the biggest in NCAA history.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...e-of-college-athletics-richest-apparel-deals/

I know the marketing guys have their consultants and all that, but UCLA is way out front? :confused: I am trying to remember all those championships they have won in the past eight or ten years. Hmmmm. Very strange. Maybe the UnderArmour CEO is a UCLA grad.
 

B1GTide

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While it is helpful to have these costs covered by an apparel company, I am not sure that I like having them as partners. We have learned just how far these companies are willing to go to grow their brands. They don't care who they burn to the ground in that effort. You can't trust them to help protect your brand.
 

92tide

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While it is helpful to have these costs covered by an apparel company, I am not sure that I like having them as partners. We have learned just how far these companies are willing to go to grow their brands. They don't care who they burn to the ground in that effort. You can't trust them to help protect your brand.
 

Catfish

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Washington has officially switched from Nike to Adidas in the apparel game. In the financial arms race, those are significant numbers. Still, the crown jewel of apparel deals was Under Armour's 15-year, $280-million agreement with UCLA, the biggest in NCAA history.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...e-of-college-athletics-richest-apparel-deals/

I know the marketing guys have their consultants and all that, but UCLA is way out front? :confused: I am trying to remember all those championships they have won in the past eight or ten years. Hmmmm. Very strange. Maybe the UnderArmour CEO is a UCLA grad.
It really doesn't seem to make a lot of sense from the fan base angle either. I know I live in Alabama, but I've never met a UCLA fan in my entire life. I've met USC, Stanford, Cal, Washington, Texas, ND, Syracuse, Boston College, etc. grads and fans. But never a single UCLA grad or fan. Is there some huge UCLA fan base that I've just missed somehow?
 

crimsonaudio

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I know the marketing guys have their consultants and all that, but UCLA is way out front? :confused: I am trying to remember all those championships they have won in the past eight or ten years. Hmmmm. Very strange. Maybe the UnderArmour CEO is a UCLA grad.
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).
 
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).
You are definitely right about that. Still, nothing appeals to kids and UCLA much these days. Since I’ve been alive they’ve won one championship in dominant sports with the OBannon brothers and that’s it. If anything it’s just Under Armor getting footprints on campus. They’ll never overtake Nike. U/A has some of the ugliest gear in history.


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Redwood Forrest

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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).
I guess that must be at least a part of it. Somehow I never think of volleyball, ping pong and rowing as big time sports ~ but then I was raised on a farm.
 

B1GTide

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I really have no sense of the size of their fan base (UCLA). UCLA is not a top 20 brand (in terms of product sales), so they are being overpaid, IMO.

But for those discounting some of UCLA's championships - do you discount Alabama's recent championships in golf or gymnastics?
 

crimsonaudio

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I guess that must be at least a part of it. Somehow I never think of volleyball, ping pong and rowing as big time sports ~ but then I was raised on a farm.
Well, they aren;t big time sports - but when you're successful in virtually every sport you participate in, you have a collection of smaller fan-bases (with some overlap) that might not equal what a power football program has, but I suspect it's closer that you'd think.

I mean, if Alabama football didn't exist the Bama sports fanbase would be vanishingly small because Alabama is incredibly top-heavy.
 

TrampLineman

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I wished we had Under Armour, their stuff is superior to Nike now. Not to mention they have better warm stuff, especially hunting gear. Thin but warm. Nike has went cheap, I remember sewn logos on coaches polos, I remember hoodies with sewn in logos. Now it's more expensive with cheaper logos on them. As for Adidas, I've never liked them.

As for us, we could NAME our price with any maker and they would gladly pay it but Nike would match, if not beat, anything any other maker could/would pay.
 

Ole Man Dan

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