Vols Switching to Nike?

#151
#151
DP,

You mean coaches lie to recruits? Say it isn't so!

There will be some on here that will refuse to believe that.
 
#152
#152
DeerPark12 said:
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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Thanks. I'm quoting this to bookmark it so I can find it and quote it next time it comes up. Ie, next week.
 
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#153
#153
DeerPark lowers the boom again.

And now we wait for the handful of jokers who claims everyone worships DP and that he doesn't know what he's talking about.
 
#156
#156
Underachievers said:
What a bunch of idiots. If TN isn't a top tier program, I would like to know what qualifies as top tier. TN may not be top 5 or even 10, but certainly top 15.
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You acting like a petulant child has no bearing on the reality of how Nike, as a company, views our program and it's marketability.
 
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#158
#158
TnTech_Vol said:
spurrier-click-clack.jpeg
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Holy crap I totally forgot about this commercial! It is exquisitely bad!
No Under Amour for me.

I still love my shell toes.
 
#160
#160
govols/cc said:
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
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Agree. I have tons of Vols gear and the shade of orange is off, from brand to brand, material to material, etc.

I only buy stuff that I think is very close to being the correct shade but it still varies.
 
#161
#161
Just so we're clear, I'm not saying we're signing with either company. I don't know. I do know that the administration has used leaks to Hubbs to increase chatter to maximize the offers.

Adidas feels good about where they are in negotiations. Nike made an offer. We'll see. A contract has to be in place by May in order to allow the full year needed for the design and ordering process. A deal with either company could be announced any time between now and then.

Two things are very important to note about the relationship with Adidas. Since they began signing schools to all-sport contracts in 1996, Adidas has only ever lost two of their "top-tier" schools. Arizona State changed in 2005. Arkansas took $800,000 less per year when they switched three years ago.

Second, Adidas is also renegotiating with Notre Dame this year, after signing long-term extensions with Nebraska and UCLA last year. Nike is making a strong push for Notre Dame. If Nike gets Notre Dame, Adidas will go all-in even more to keep Tennessee.
 
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#163
#163
The Vol fan in me wants us to stay with Adidas, because I don't ever want to see us wearing camouflage uniforms.

The VN moderator in me wants us to switch to Nike, just so this topic will finally go the hell away forever.
 
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#164
#164
Thought I'd throw this out there,

Nike may see a big opportunity in the turnaround that, not just our fan base, but CFB experts everywhere say is coming. From a business standpoint, you always want to get in at the right time, and Nike may see this as a chance to offer UT a bigger deal than in the past, but a smaller deal than what they would have to offer 4 years from now.

I'm sure they'd love to be flashing the swoosh on both sidelines of the Battle at Bristol come 2016.

:twocents:
 
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#165
#165
I would be curious to know if that's the reason programs such as Notre Dame, Michigan, UCLA, and Nebraska use Adidas as well. Does Nike view those programs as "2nd tier" also? Surely those programs are recognized and have just as strong of a national brand as Florida or Ohio State.
 
#166
#166
rocktopper16 said:
If we did sign with Nike would they buy out Adidas contract to 2015 or would the university buy it out?
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Not possible. A company needs a year of lead time to produce apparel and uniforms for the teams and retail.

UT has already ordered all the Adidas gear for the 2014-15 school year and retailers will do the same very soon. Many, including the VolShop (formerly known at UT Bookstore) that provides in-stadium merchandise sales, have also ordered all of their merchandise for next year.
 
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#167
#167
deerpark12 said:
not possible. A company needs a year of lead time to produce apparel and uniforms for the teams and retail.

Ut has already ordered all the adidas gear for the 2014-15 school year and retailers will do the same very soon. Many, including the volshop (formerly known at ut bookstore) that provides in-stadium merchandise sales, have also ordered all of their merchandise for next year.
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10-4.
 
#168
#168
Brave Volunteer said:
I would be curious to know if that's the reason programs such as Notre Dame, Michigan, UCLA, and Nebraska use Adidas as well. Does Nike view those programs as "2nd tier" also? Surely those programs are recognized and have just as strong of a national brand as Florida or Ohio State.
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No, they took much larger financial deals than Nike was willing to offer. Adidas doubled Nike's offer to get Michigan in 2010.

I know Nike offered UCLA a "top-tier" deal last year and they took the larger money to stay with Adidas. Notre Dame, as I mentioned a page or two back, is negotiating their next deal right now.
 
#169
#169
DeerPark12 said:
No, they took much larger financial deals than Nike was willing to offer. Adidas doubled Nike's offer to get Michigan in 2010.

I know Nike offered UCLA a "top-tier" deal last year and they took the larger money to stay with Adidas. Notre Dame, as I mentioned a page or two back, is negotiating their next deal right now.
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Not to mention Kansas and Indiana both use Adidas, which surprises me considering their basketball prowess. I would think they would have gotten better Nike deals for bball alone.

DeerPark, the way I see it what this all comes down to is recruiting (in all sports). Regardless of which company offers Tennessee the sweeter deal, if using Adidas instead of Nike puts us at a legitimate recruiting disadvantage, then I feel like it should be the university's obligation to go with Nike regardless of what tier they view us at.
 
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#170
#170
Brave Volunteer said:
Not to mention Kansas and Indiana both use Adidas, which surprises me considering their basketball prowess. I would think they would have gotten better Nike deals for bball alone.

DeerPark, the way I see it what this all comes down to is recruiting (in all sports). Regardless of which company offers Tennessee the sweeter deal, if using Adidas instead of Nike puts us at a legitimate recruiting disadvantage, then I feel like it should be the university's obligation to go with Nike regardless of what tier they view us at.
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Nike doesn't pay as much as Adidas. The only Nike deals that are more lucrative than Tennessee's with Adidas are the ones signed in the last year with Ohio State and Alabama. And we're not even the top Adidas school.

Oregon's actual contract isn't as big as other Nike schools, but they do product development, so they basically get unlimited product. No other school has that.

Look at what we're doing in football recruiting and tell me we're at a disadvantage because of our shoes. Be real.

Basketball coaches think there's some difference because of relationships with big prospects, but it doesn't seem to hurt Louisville or Kansas. A basketball player that supposedly excluded us for being an Adidas school ended up signing with Kansas - another Adidas school. A guy we lost out on this year was being swayed by his Nike-affiliated AAU coach and ended up signing with UCLA, also Adidas.
 
#171
#171
DeerPark12 said:
- 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.
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These three reasons alone seem more than enough. Adidas treats us well (more like a partner and less like someone to dictate to), provides a better deal, and shows more respect to our brand than Nike seemingly ever would. I can't see why we'd give that up to be another brick in the swoosh wall -- we'd just be another lever to be pulled (via some garish getup) when it's time to make a few extra bucks or make some buzz one fiscal quarter.
 
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#172
#172
DeerPark12 said:
Nike doesn't pay as much as Adidas. The only Nike deals that are more lucrative than Tennessee's with Adidas are the ones signed in the last year with Ohio State and Alabama. And we're not even the top Adidas school.

Oregon's actual contract isn't as big as other Nike schools, but they do product development, so they basically get unlimited product. No other school has that.

Look at what we're doing in football recruiting and tell me we're at a disadvantage because of our shoes. Be real.

Basketball coaches think there's some difference because of relationships with big prospects, but it doesn't seem to hurt Louisville or Kansas. A basketball player that supposedly excluded us for being an Adidas school ended up signing with Kansas - another Adidas school. A guy we lost out on this year was being swayed by his Nike-affiliated AAU coach and ended up signing with UCLA, also Adidas.
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Yeah, I see your point. With recruiting I was speaking more about other sports such as basketball, baseball, track, etc. I know CBJ is killing it in recruiting and there are plenty of other Adidas schools that are recruiting very well.
 
#173
#173
Brave Volunteer said:
Yeah, I see your point. With recruiting I was speaking more about other sports such as basketball, baseball, track, etc. I know CBJ is killing it in recruiting and there are plenty of other Adidas schools that are recruiting very well.
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Louisville and Michigan, both Adidas schools were in the national championship game in men's basketball.

UCLA and Mississippi State, also both Adidas schools, played in the championship series in baseball.

Do recruits bring up shoe companies? Sure. Is it a big enough factor in their decisions to put Adidas schools at a disadvantage? Doesn't seem to.
 
#175
#175
utvolpj said:
Doubt it all you want but people who know the process have said as much.
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The only way that Nike is judging first and second tier teams is $$$$$$$$$. As long as Tennessee fans are buying (and we are...maybe not at the pace we once were, but WELL ahead of most other schools) we will still be considered top tier.
 
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