If Tennessee Leaves Nike Question

[HeavenUniversity]

If Tennessee switches from Nike to Adidas, do stores have to sell all their Nike merchandise by a certain date or can they continue to sell what they have left of Vols Nike gear after Adidas products are in the market? Just wondering if there might be some big discount Vols sales in the near future?

 

[DeerPark12]

If Tennessee switches from Nike to Adidas, do stores have to sell all their Nike merchandise by a certain date or can they continue to sell what they have left of Vols Nike gear after Adidas products are in the market? Just wondering if there might be some big discount Vols sales in the near future?

Depends on their relationship with the new company. When Tennessee switched to Nike, they stipulated that retailers could not stock the Nike product if they were still selling old Adidas product in the same location. No idea if Adidas does this, but I would assume they do.

Nike would still have the rights to ship Tennessee gear to retailers through June 30, 2026, but I think the last shipment will be the baseball jersey/hat/tshirt order that usually arrives in mid-March. The last new design you'll see a Tennessee logo on will be the NCAA Tournament bench shirts.

Retailers are free to sell what's been delivered to them until it's gone. Places like Marshalls/TJMaxx sold Adidas Tennessee back stock and retailer returns for a couple of years after we moved.

 

[chuck0303]

If Tennessee switches from Nike to Adidas, do stores have to sell all their Nike merchandise by a certain date or can they continue to sell what they have left of Vols Nike gear after Adidas products are in the market? Just wondering if there might be some big discount Vols sales in the near future?

I don't buy or own any Nike merchandise. Burn them. I'm still boycotting Nike from way back. Why? Because I can.

 

[rockytop989]

I don't buy or own any Nike merchandise. Burn them. I'm still boycotting Nike from way back. Why? Because I can.

I’m pretty sure OP doesn’t care about what’s in your closet or your positive attitude. Hope you have a joyful Friday.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

I really hope we don't switch, I actually like all our uniforms for once. Adidas was all over the place. The only thing I would change for the football uniforms is the numbers bigger. The basketball uniforms are perfection, other than I guess the black one but for a black one it's good enough and they kept it simple. I like pretty much all the baseball uniforms and softball unfiorms. Honestly the only ones I'd change is the women's basketball because imo they need a more throwback look like the men got. They still use that original Nike template kinda and it looks a bit out of place now imo.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Why are people acting like this is such a big deal?

 

[RDU VOL#14]

I don't buy or own any Nike merchandise. Burn them. I'm still boycotting Nike from way back. Why? Because I can.

Are you hosting a telethon you’d like to tell us about ?

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Why are people acting like this is such a big deal?

There is large money involved which dwarfs NIL money or coach's salaries which are massive topics here from time to time.

It's an example of how big the business of UT Athletics is that Nike and Adidas will offer huge money for the rights.

One could easily draw parallels to the hated "making it all a business" conversation about NIL and players moving to the highest bidder...... but I won't. Or I will.

It's big business.

 

[molsen81]

Someone on this thread is angry. Man, get some therapy.

 

[Flogballs]

Why are people acting like this is such a big deal?

It’s weird there is such a sizeble portion of our fan base who seem to have a very emotional response to a logo.

Like most emotional arguments it’s pointless. UT should go with the highest bidder end of story. Especially in this day and age.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

It’s weird there is such a sizeble portion of our fan base who seem to have a very emotional response to a logo.

Like most emotional arguments it’s pointless. UT should go with the highest bidder end of story. Especially in this day and age.

It's not that weird. This isnt something impossible to wrap your brain around.

1.) Like any brand, people have preferences. You Like Coke, I like Pepsi. You prefer Samsung, I prefer Apple. You prefer Chevy, I prefer Ford. Nike is a popular apparel brand that a LOT of people prefer for various reasons. If you're a Tennessee fan that buys a lot of Tennessee apparel, chances are you think Nike is better quality. If we switch to Adidas, that means that a good chunk of fans will have to start buying a brand they dont like. Thats not nothing. It's something that directly impacts the fans.

2.) There IS a perception out there that the large majority of recruits prefer Nike over Adidas. I believe that's true. Nike is like Led Zeppelin. They are an eternally hip brand that never falls out of favor, no matter how much trends change. It is as solid and unwavering in terms of favorability as you're going to find in branding! Plus Nike always associates itself with the highest profile athletes and is generally synonymous with premium quality. I dont want to lose that brand association when the majority of recruits prefer it.

I hear people say "well recruits care about NIL money more now than brand apparel." Well, ok but other schools have NIL too. What if a recruit is deciding between us and a Nike branded school and everything is else is equal? Apparel branding could very well be the deciding factor! I dont want to give that potential leverage to our rivals!