Forget maize and blue. Nike has Michigan seeing shades of green.
The mind-boggling numbers from the school’s new apparel contract were released Tuesday: $169 million over 11 years, making it by far the richest in collegiate athletics.
That equates to an average of $15.4 million per year, leaps and bounds over Nike’s $2.84 million annual deal with Phil Knight darling Oregon. The second-richest collegiate apparel contract is Notre Dame’s $9 million per year deal with Under Armour, which also was involved in the Michigan bidding.
Athletic Director Jim Hackett said he picked Nike over Adidas and Under Armour after extensive market research, performance evaluations, fan, player and alumni feedback.
And, of course, coach Jim Harbaugh had his say in the matter. On just his second day on the job, with Michigan still under contract with Adidas, Harbaugh revealed his preference for the swoosh.
“In the end it was obvious that it was going to be Nike,” Hackett said. “At the core, it is about our University community and it is about two great names reuniting for an opportunity that speaks to more than uniforms and apparel.”
Wolverines fans had not held back their distaste for the previous Adidas uniforms.
When you sell you soul to adidas, you get what you deserve. pic.twitter.com/OPIvgN0Va3
— At larrold on dat sky app (@Larry_Boa) March 12, 2015
@BTpowerhouse here are Michigan's ugly Adidas uniforms pic.twitter.com/x73YeQC1LS
— Kevin Trahan (@k_trahan) March 12, 2015
With Harbaugh looking to emulate Bo Schembechler in every way, a switch back to the Michigan jerseys of old is a good place to start.
