Vols Switching to Nike?

#127
#127
Underachievers said:
Says who?I've never heard of such. I guess we should take your word?
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It's not my word. This debate has been rehashed many, many, many times. If you're really interested do a search for deerpark's posts in the other uniform threads
 
#132
#132
Underachievers said:
BS. No way a program the size of UT is considered a second tier.
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It has nothing to do with the size of the program. It has nothing to do with how many wins you have or what your program's history is. It's about how big/popular/valuable your national brand is. TV ratings, merchandise sales, etc -- how well do you do nationally? From that standpoint, we were never on the same level as, say, Texas or Ohio State even when we were at our peak in the 90s, and the gap is only wider now that our team has been in the crapper for a decade.

PJ's right. This has come up repeatedly over the years. All the people who supposedly have some knowledge from within the UTAD have agreed that Adidas pays us like a top-level school and Nike wouldn't.
 
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#133
#133
Vercingetorix said:
It has nothing to do with the size of the program. It has nothing to do with how many wins you have or what your program's history is. It's about how big/popular/valuable your national brand is. TV ratings, merchandise sales, etc -- how well do you do nationally? From that standpoint, we were never on the same level as, say, Texas or Ohio State even when we were at our peak in the 90s, and the gap is only wider now that our team has been in the crapper for a decade.

PJ's right. This has come up repeatedly over the years. All the people who supposedly have some knowledge from within the UTAD have agreed that Adidas pays us like a top-level school and Nike wouldn't.
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I don't think anyone is trying to say TN is on te same level ad TX,Ohio St or USC,but that doesn't make you a second tier team. Is Georgia or South Carolina a second tier team also?
 
#134
#134
It's all about money and Nike previously wasn't willing to cough up the cash that Adidas was offering.
 
#139
#139
According to Collegiate Licensing Company, TN was 15th nationally last year in merch sales. After the last few years of turmoil, that's strong evidence against the argument of not being a top tier program. The numbers don't lie.
 
#141
#141
Underachievers said:
I don't think anyone is trying to say TN is on te same level ad TX,Ohio St or USC,but that doesn't make you a second tier team. Is Georgia or South Carolina a second tier team also?
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I don't pretend to know the details. I just know I've been reading this "Nike considers us a second-tier school" stuff from UT people who would probably know since well before the wheels came off the football program.

You see Texas hats all over the country. You see OSU hats; you see USC shirts. You see Oregon gear, for crying out loud. I doubt you see a whole lot of Tennessee or South Carolina or Georgia gear when you go out west. It's easy to see why we wouldn't get as much money as schools which move the needle more.
 
#143
#143
Vercingetorix said:
I don't pretend to know the details. I just know I've been reading this "Nike considers us a second-tier school" stuff from UT people who would probably know since well before the wheels came off the football program.

You see Texas hats all over the country. You see OSU hats; you see USC shirts. You see Oregon gear, for crying out loud. I doubt you see a whole lot of Tennessee or South Carolina or Georgia gear when you go out west. It's easy to see why we wouldn't get as much money as schools which move the needle more.
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Not trying to argue. The data shows TN in the top 15 even after these last few years of bad football.
 
#145
#145
Underachievers said:
Not trying to argue. The data shows TN in the top 15 even after these last few years of bad football.
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I am of course completely talking out of my arse here, but as I said, I'd guess that it's based on some kind of national appeal-based criteria rather than just straight up unit sales. I don't know who's on Nike's golden list of top schools, but I'd guess it consists almost entirely of teams which are A) from large, heavily populated states, or B) offer a high level of current bandwagon appeal. We aren't either.
 
#146
#146
Underachievers said:
According to Collegiate Licensing Company, TN was 15th nationally last year in merch sales. After the last few years of turmoil, that's strong evidence against the argument of not being a top tier program. The numbers don't lie.
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Four straight seven loss seasons and in the top 15 in merchandise sales, that's really impressive. Just imagine if the Vols start winning again, they will easily be in the top ten and maybe the top five.
 
#147
#147
Underachievers said:
Not trying to argue. The data shows TN in the top 15 even after these last few years of bad football.
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Nobody's trying to say we aren't. However, based on what DP has posted in the past (and it's important to note that nearly every uni related thing he's ever posted has been spot on) there are a select group of Nike schools, probably small enough that you could count them on one hand, that are their "top tier schools". To your other question, yes, UGA would also be considered a second tier school, and South Carolina isn't even a Nike school so they're irrelevant to this conversation.
 
#148
#148
patrick said:
How many times has Adidas gotten the orange wrong in our unis?
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As much as any other company has. It's not like the shade of orange we use is easily reproduced from material to material, fabric to fabric, etc. I have Nike apparel that's not 100% consistent. Same with adidas. Colosseum. Etc
 
#149
#149
I tried to avoid this thread because I've posted all of this dozens of times before. Here's the short version:

- Tennessee's contract with Adidas runs through July 1, 2015. Any change in provider will not take place until then.

- Tennessee has had discussions with Adidas regarding an extension, and has also taken meetings with Nike and Under Armour. UA is not a big player in his because they have few connections in football and basketball recruiting camps and travel teams.

- Regarding the "second tier" comments, that has been where Nike has put their contract offers in the past. They see their "top tier" as a group of 7-10 schools that move the meter nationally. If you go in a Champs Sports in any state, you'll see their gear. Florida, Alabama, Ohio State, USC, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Oregon are schools that currently have "top tier" deals. Tennessee is not getting one of these contracts from Nike. Period.

- "Second tier" Nike schools receive a lower payout and give up design control of uniforms. The schools are given several options, but if Nike wants them to wear an alternate, they're wearing an alternate.

- Adidas offers by far the best financial and equipment contract. Our deal with Adidas is worth more in money and product than all but three Nike contracts. Despite our struggles, we are one of their premier schools and are paid like it.

- If we switch to Nike, which is a possibility, we will be taking less money to do so. Adidas has the right to match any offer made by another company, but UT does not have to take it. At this point, that's a moot point, the financial package that is out there from Nike is well below what Adidas has offered.

- Saw a post that Butch is a "Nike guy," which is completely false. His teams at Central Michigan wore Adidas, his teams at Cincinnati wore Adidas and he was a part of Cincinnati extending their department-wide deal with Adidas just last fall.

- Dave Hart was a Nike guy at Florida State, but he inherited that deal from his predecessor and extended it. He wasn't involved in the last renegotiation with Nike at Alabama. He has built a relationship with people at Adidas in his time here, so his prior ties aren't significant.

- A lot of this "smoke" has come from recruits that say coaches have told them that we're changing. Hate to break it to you guys, but coaches have told recruits that for years. If a player says they love Nike, we'll roll out the "Well our deal is up soon" line. Coaches tell recruits what they want to hear. Always have. Our men's basketball staff told a kid recently that plays for an Adidas-sponsored AAU team that we were close to r-signing with Adidas. It's all about who they're talking to at a given time.

- Oranges don't match is a common complaint. Look at any sideline in college football and show me one where every jacket, sweatshirt and jersey match. You notice it here for two reasons. First, it's your school. You're looking for it. Second, the lighter the color, the bigger the difference appears in different lighting and on different materials. Clemson has a similar problem, they're a Nike school. Florida's oranges don't match, they're a Nike school. Look at Florida State's sideline, 50 shades of garnet and 50 more of gold.
 
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#150
#150
bleedorange0037 said:
DeerPark has posted several times in the uniform thread that there are only a handful of first tier Nike teams who get complete creative control over their uniforms. You can probably make a decent guess as to who they are. He's also said that Nike doesn't consider UT a part of that group, and signing with them would require us to be more or less at Nike's mercy with regards to our Gameday attire.
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This has only been posted about a million times now.
 
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