German sportswear giant Adidas has enhanced its presence in US college sport by agreeing an eight-year partnership with the Sun Devil Athletics division of university Arizona State.
Adidas, which replaces Nike in the role, has agreed a deal worth $33.8m (€27m) that will commence in July 2015 and run through to the end of the 2022-23 season.
Adidas will be the official athletic footwear, apparel, and accessory brand of Sun Devil Athletics.
Arizona State’s partnership with Adidas is the first new National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) licensing deal for the company in five years since Mississippi State signed in 2009. It now has 12 licensed partnerships with Arizona State, Michigan, UCLA, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Mississippi State and North Carolina State.
Mark King, Adidas Group’s North America president, said: “Our long-term partnership with the Sun Devils highlights our commitment to US college athletics and our focus on aligning ourselves with championship-level schools, teams and athletes.
“We are connecting with schools Americans love and will add more key partners like Arizona State to our roster as we continue to grow in college sports.”
Adidas sponsored Arizona State prior to the 2005-06 season.