What Does WKU’s Switch to Nike Mean?
Later this afternoon, WKU will announce that they are switching from longtime equipment supplier Russell Athletic to Nike for all sports. The 5-year deal is a boon to the athletic department and will resonate with the program, recruits and fan base. Here are some thoughts on the switch:
This Helps Recruiting
In the world of recruiting apparel, brand matters. In the current pecking order Nike is the undisputed king across all sports. Last year, Nike had a 9.5 cool factor compared to 8.1 for Adidas , 7.9 for Under Armour & just 2.9 for Russell with football recruits. In basketball, Nike will help Rick Stansbury’s program continue to gain access with elite prospects at the Nike basketball camps during the summer that feed players to Nike programs. Even elite basketball programs such as Lousville have lost recruits in the past due to their shoe affiliation (Adidas) and Nike is the kingpin in the basketball world. Other sports across the hill will benefit from being outfitted “head-to-toe” with new Nike uniforms and we can all hope that adds another selling point in WKU’s strong programs such as Volleyball, Women’s Basketball & Track and Field while adding another recruiting component to struggling programs such as Baseball.
This helps overall perception of WKU program
For years, we repeatedly have heard jokes about WKU being a Russell school, with that commonly being used as a put down to show WKU’s “2nd-tier” status. Now with Nike as the Tops’ apparel supplier that is now out the window. When WKU is now on National TV (which will still be rare with C-USA’s crappy TV deal), people will see WKU wearing arguably the top brand in sports apparel. That can only help the perception of WKU’s brand as a quality program.
New apparel for players & hopefully fans
The news of the switch will resonate with the current players .There will be buzz of new & alternate uniforms for the 2017–18 school year and successive years moving forward. Players won’t just be getting new uniforms but new warm ups, & free team gear that is one of the perks of being a student athlete. The real question for fans is how does this affect the fan apparel options. Will Nike include WKU when it comes to its yearly apparel updates or will they offer basic/generic team options that were already available in Bowling Green. Just compare Marshall’s options to Kentucky’s.
Russell wasn’t as bad as people thought it was
During the 10 years that Russell has supplied WKU, it has stepped up its game, especially when it comes to the football team uniforms. Here’s some visual evidence:
Russell Athletic is a subsidiary of Fruit of the Loom, the 3rd largest employer in Bowling Green that has its World Headquarters in the community. WKU arguably was Russell’s number one or two most important client (along with Georgia Tech) and was treated as such. Between the Fruit of the Loom store on Scottsville Road and an decent supply of Russell Branded WKU clothing at various Bowling Green locations, it did offer a somewhat cheaper option to the pricey Nike apparel that will replace it. The switch to Nike is exciting but there is a small cloud of worry that WKU will be just another G5 client for the apparel giant. WKU goes from a mutually beneficial partnership to maybe the 80th most important client for Nike (if that). There has been evidence with some of our C-USA rivals that they’re just another number and not unique. Let’s hope our recent run of success and coaching connections drive Nike to see WKU as a mid-major priority on the level of Boise and not MTSU.
At the end of the day the “mutual” parting could have been a case of the writing on the wall. Russell has seemed to de-empathize college sponsorship in its business model. They stopped being the title sponsor of the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando and recently another solid G5 program jumped ship (Ohio). This hopefully will live up to all our greatest hopes and hopefully the recruiting wins will offset the probable decline in direct support.
How do you feel about the impending Nike announcment. What are you hoping to gain out of it? Will WKU benefit or just be another G5 Nike school? Let us know in a comment below, or on twitter @TheTowelRackWKU.
