Pitt switches from Adidas to Nike for all sporting attire

When athletic director Steve Pederson came to Pitt in 1996, only the football and basketball… When athletic director Steve Pederson came to Pitt in 1996, only the football and basketball programs were provided team apparel.

Smaller, less heralded sports teams at the University had to buy their own shoes and do their own laundry. In 1997, though, Pitt signed a deal with Adidas. With the exception of a couple of years in the early 2000s when the football program wore Nike gear, the relationship between Adidas and Pitt lasted 11 years.

In August, however, Pitt announced a new deal with sporting juggernaut Nike, which now outfits all sports programs at the school.

“When it came right down to it, it’s what our student-athletes are most comfortable in and feel strongest about,” Pederson said. “Our student-athletes knew our contract was coming to an end and hardly a day went by when someone didn’t say ‘I hope we switch to Nike.’”

Pitt will not divulge the terms of the agreement, but Pederson said that it is “a fairly long-term” deal. Earlier this year, North Carolina signed a 10-year, $37.7 million deal with the brand. In 2008, Memphis signed a five-year, $11.3 million deal.

The change means new uniforms and apparel for all student-athletes. It also means acclimating to new equipment after growing accustomed to Adidas. For most, it has been a welcomed change.

“The Nike apparel in general is a lot nicer,” Liz Carroll, a junior midfielder and forward for the women’s soccer team, said. “The Adidas stuff was just boring, the same stuff every year.”

She did say, however, that she preferred Adidas cleats to Nike — not surprising, considering that Adidas is widely regarded as an international soccer brand.

Marie Eanes-Fennelly, a senior tennis player, agreed that the Nike gear is an upgrade.

“I think the whole team in general is excited about a new change,” Eanes-Fennelly said. “We’ve had the same stuff all the time for years. Any kind of change is welcome and appreciated.”

In contrast to Carroll, Eanes-Fennelly said she preferred the Nike footwear from a tennis standpoint, citing a lighter, more flexible shoe to the heavier Adidas model the team had in the past.

But smaller sports such as soccer and tennis aside, deals of this nature with prominent athletic companies are fueled by the more visible, national scale sports: football and basketball.

“Football and basketball drive Nike’s interest in their association with us,” Pederson said. “Certainly they want to outfit all of our student athletes, but for the most part, the way you’re able to make this happen is through the interest they have in very national kinds of programs.”

In recent years, Pitt has become a nationally high-profile school in the larger sports, especially basketball. The men’s team made it’s first Elite Eight appearance last year, and the women’s team went from never making an NCAA Tournament appearance before 2007 to reaching the Sweet 16 the past two seasons. Pitt was also one of just four schools last year to have a football team go to a bowl game, a men’s basketball team make the Elite Eight and a women’s basketball team make the Sweet 16. The others were Connecticut, Michigan State and Oklahoma.

Current Pitt basketball player Tim Frye, a senior in his third year with the team, is happy with the brand switch.

“I feel like Nike’s more of a basketball gear [company] than Adidas. I like their shoes better,” Frye said. “We haven’t gotten much gear yet, but I definitely like Nike better.”

The team has yet to see what it will wear in games this season. Several other Big East teams outfitted by Nike — Syracuse, Georgetown and Connecticut — all don a uniform that includes an almost skin-tight jersey for the upper body. Frye does not know if that is the design Pitt will wear, but he would be interested in that style.

“I think the tighter would be good,” he said. “You wouldn’t get caught on anything.”

And the change doesn’t stop at current athletes. From a recruiting standpoint, playing with Nike has provided a positive reaction from prospective athletes whom several programs are currently courting to play at Pitt in the future.

“Our coaches have already told me that the feedback from people we’re recruiting is they like the fact that we’re with Nike,” Pederson said. “A lot of the young people like that we’re with Nike.”

It is difficult to gauge if the change to Nike will yield improved results in competition, but the morale of student-athletes cannot be an overlooked aspect of the transition.

“If they feel good in it, then chances are they’ll perform better in it,” Pederson said.