The athletics department of Louisiana Tech University has agreed a partnership with German sportswear giant Adidas, bringing to an end its association with rival brand Nike.
Adidas has agreed a five-year deal to provide the university’s Bulldogs teams with uniforms, apparel, footwear and equipment. The deal will become effective on July 1 next year and will run through until the end of the 2020-21 college athletics season. According to the BleedTechBlue.com website, the deal is worth $3m (€2.9m).
Adidas will provide 15 of the Bulldogs’ 16 programs with kit from 2016, with the Lady Techster basketball program joining up a year later.
As part of the agreement, the two parties will team up on a number of marketing and merchandising initiatives over the course of the deal.
“Louisiana Tech already has a strong national brand, but partnering with a global leader like Adidas will allow us to further enhance our brand, and brand consistency across all sports,” Tommy McClelland, director of athletics for Louisiana Tech, said.
“It became very apparent throughout the process that Adidas recognised the value of Louisiana Tech’s national brand and they were aggressive in their pursuit to partner with us. We now have one of the best apparel deals of any mid-major program.”
Adidas already has existing partnerships with such colleges as Arizona State, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas A&M and UCLA.