Under Armour has "signed a 10-year deal to outfit" the Naval Academy's varsity and club sports teams beginning on July 1, according to sources cited by ESPN's Darren Rovell. Navy's first football game "wearing Under Armour uniforms will be on Labor Day weekend next year" against Ohio State. Navy is the 12th college to have a school-wide deal with UA, joining Auburn, Boston College, Hawaii, Maryland, Northwestern, St. John's, South Carolina, South Florida, Temple, Texas Tech and Utah. The agreement makes sense for UA, as Navy is close to its global HQs in Baltimore, comes at a "relatively cheap price" and gives the company a "chance to make [a] big uniform splash" (TWITTER.com, 11/7).
PURPLE RAIN: Northwestern's patriotic Wounded Warrior jerseys, which are made by UA and will be worn for its Nov. 16 game against Michigan, continue to garner attention for what appears to be blood splattered on the U.S. flag. The N.Y. Daily News' Frank Isola said he did not "mind the uniform," though he would "take away the blood splatter." Isola: "They're doing it for a good cause, which is important. ... Everyone seems to have an alternative uniform. At least this is something where they're trying to draw attention to the Wounded Warriors and the donation should be something that helps." ESPN's Jackie MacMullan said the "blood splatter sends the wrong message" and makes people "squeamish." She asked, "Who benefits from this? The Wounded Warriors, I hope. But doesn't Under Armour because everybody's starting to talk about these uniforms and their avant-garde attempt at getting into this business?" ESPN's J.A. Adande said, "If it makes people uncomfortable, thoughts of war should make people uncomfortable. There's nothing comforting about war. Utilizing the flag in uniforms, we've seen that in baseball caps, we've seen that in other uniforms, so that's nothing new. It actually bothers me that nothing about it really says Northwestern on the helmet" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 11/6).
