Converse "is out" and Nike "is in -- at least for this
season" as the footwear supplier to the IN Univ. men's
basketball team, according to John Meunier of the
Bloomington HERALD-TIMES, who wrote that when Bob Knight was
fired as coach, he "took his private contract for Converse
shoes with him." The school has since entered into an
agreement with Nike, and interim coach Mike Davis said, "We
just needed to have equipment. There's no money in the
deal, just equipment. Converse was having problems. Our
guys needed shoes. We just got our shoes like two days
before we had our first practice. Some guys didn't have
shoes then." Davis added that he has "no idea whether there
are plans for entering a long-term contract with Nike or
some other company before the end of the year." Meunier
wrote that under Big Ten rules "enacted after Knight
switched his team from Adidas to Converse" during the '93-94
season without including the university in the talks, shoe
and apparel contracts between coaches and vendors "must
include the university" (Bloomington HERALD-TIMES, 10/29).
