And I'm saying that in the shadow of their headquarters.

Kids would rather wear Reebok. And I don't think Plank can pull off a recovery.

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Sometimes I rhyme slow sometimes I rhyme quick.

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football. And beyond that, consideration should be extended to football.

It's Nike or Adidas if we don't stay with UA.

Also, in terms of customer service, I'd be fine as long as we get the same level of service as the other top non-Oregon programs. Treat us the same as Ohio State, Texas, Bama, LSU, FSU, or USC, and it's fine by me.

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Choosing a brand has to consider every sport, and if you're gonna pick the best/most utility, adidas is the footwear one. I also bet that Oregon, or a small selection of schools, gets first crack at Nike's new and innovative stuff, let alone gets better customer service.

UA doesn't seem to have been a good bet, but I'd rather ND go for another smaller brand than be a Nike client. Maybe its New Balance, maybe its Mizuno, maybe someone else (as long as its not Castore).

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mean anymore?

I don't doubt that adidas has the advantage in "cleats" globally, but that's going to be based heavily in soccer. I don't know how that technology translates to football.

It's been interesting watching New Balance gain at least an iota of "cool factor" recently. Not sure how close they are to delivering an elite football cleat. Certainly, they have pretty well established themselves in baseball and are on their way to carving out a niche in basketball. I'm not at ALL advocating for them. Just commenting on their change over the past decade to seemingly actively rejecting the idea of "cool" to embracing and then achieving a bit of it.

On the one hand, maybe they have accomplished what UA did for a stretch. They had signed Steph, Spieth, and I think a couple others, and that group went on a heater, which made the brand look amazing. But then the bubble burst.

On the other hand, NB's DNA forever was "substance over form," so I think their broadening their footprint a bit more into "cool" sports culture could be more sustainable, in terms of superstar endorsements and outfitting deals.

And as they showed in the last RFP round, Nike isn't super-motivated to bid high on us. I think UA would take a loss on the deal just to keep themselves alive.

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"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." - Yeats

I think there are perks to having favored nation status, and I'm not entirely sure how ND would fare if they went to Nike's stable. I know Nike is likely still the gold standard and better than UA in sneakers, but from a global sports perspective Adidas is the leader in cleats. UA and Nike, in my experience, are fungible (with UA often slightly ahead) in baselayers and performance fabrics.

So what could ND lose by trying to gain some sort of cool factor? I'd be interested in hearing from experienced equipment folks on that.

and needs in the NIL era.

I have to think that the "all in on football" approach we are taking would indicate we'd be likely to sign on with Nike. They are the industry leader.

Doesn't seem like a bad idea.

https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2026/06/10/university-of-utah-under-armour-d...

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Sometimes I rhyme slow sometimes I rhyme quick.