Adidas has lost another major collegiate athletic program this offseason, as Tennessee announced Friday that it has struck a deal with Nike. The Vols have worn Adidas since the mid-‘90s. Neither the school nor either apparel company has announced details yet, and major uniform changes shouldn’t be expected.
Adidas loses Tennessee to Nike after losing Notre Dame to Under Armour
While there are no details yet as to exactly what caused the Vols to split with their longtime equipment provider, the apparel company’s reach in college football continues to diminish.
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier in the offseason, Notre Dame left Adidas in favor of Under Armour.
Tennessee has entered into a department wide apparel agreement with @NIKE. Details to follow.
— Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_Sports) January 31, 2014 Notre Dame and Under Armour both saw a significant financial gain immediately following that deal.
Under Armour stock is up 22.5 percent to 103.95 from 84.78 in the 9 days since #NotreDame announced its new deal, which includes UA stock.
— Dan Murphy (@BGI_DanMurphy) January 30, 2014 The biggest names left for Adidas in college sports are Kansas, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Wisconsin and UCLA.
Having ties with Nike is considered a huge boon for recruiting. Tennessee's archrival Alabama (among many other schools) displays Nike logos in many of its recruiting materials. Georgia, for one, is particularly proud of the partnership, as you can see on its official Twitter page.
Other schools previously took issue with Adidas, with 17 universities canceling merchandise contracts with the company after compensation issues for workers of a closed factor in Indonesia.
More from SB Nation college football:
See More:
