For the past 27 years, the University of Miami and Nike have been nearly synonymous with each other, to the point where at one point in the mid-00’s, Miami was the school that got new cutting-edge uniform technology and designs from Nike, while most of the other schools followed a year or so afterward wearing similar templates. However, with Nike seemingly putting their focus on Oregon and other schools who dared to follow in Oregon’s footstep when it came to the ridiculous amount of color and uniform combos, it seemed like Miami’s relationship with Nike was put to the side. Now, the relationship is no more, as there are reports that Miami has become the latest school to make the move to adidas.
From Sports Illustrated’s report:
Miami athletic director Blake James told Porter a decision will be announced on Thursday after the school received bids from Adidas and Under Armour. The deal will cover every sport once the Nike agreement expires on Aug. 31.
Porter reports the contract is more lucrative than the previous Nike deal and is similar to Arizona State’s eight-year, $33 million contract with Adidas announced last month.
Miami became the first school to be outfitted exclusively by one brand when it signed a deal with Nike in 1987.
This is a pretty big coup for adidas. After officially picking up Arizona State last month, they’ve once again outbid the competition and have picked up a school that, like I said earlier, was nearly synonymous with Nike. It’s going to be very weird seeing that “U” logo side by side with an adidas logo, but the one thing that’s sure about time passing by is that things are certain to change, and this is one of those things. With that being said, here’s hoping that adidas will never subject us to a look like this for Miami:
Yikes. So, what do you guys make of this news? Sad to see Miami’s relationship with Nike ending after nearly 30 years? Excited to see what they’ll look like under the adidas umbrella? Be sure to let us know how you feel.