Mississippi State on Thursday "announced a new seven-year extension with Adidas" worth more than $17M, according to Michael Bonner of the Jackson CLARION-LEDGER. The school in '09 agreed to a 5-year deal worth $3M in product, and the new deal spans seven years worth $17.5M in "both product and cash." MSU AD Scott Stricklin said, "Loyalty is important. And Adidas came to us when we may not have been as appealing. They outperformed. They went above and beyond. And our coaches are incredibly happy with that relationship." However, Bonner noted MSU fans "haven't always been pleased with Adidas." One of their "biggest complaints" involves the similarity between MSU and Texas A&M. adidas Dir of Football Mark Daniels said of the schools' uniforms, "I'll be really honest, as we've moved into the last couple of years things have gotten a little closer than we'd like them to be. We are diligently focused on separating them even more." adidas "allows coaches to help design the uniforms." Daniels said that sometimes coaches' preferences are "very similar," and "with similar colors there are only so many options." Daniels: "What we have to do is look at that history and tradition and say OK, how do we modernize that? And how do we modernize that in a way that separates" (CLARIONLEDGER.com, 4/10). The MSU extension with adidas runs through '20 (MSU).
NEW THREADS: The CLARION-LEDGER's Bonner noted MSU on Thursday "revealed baseball uniforms for Super Bulldog Weekend as well as football uniforms" for the '14 home opener. The baseball jersey, pants and hat are "a white-cream color" that is "more white than the cream displayed" by the MLB Giants. The football uniforms "are a tribute to the teams of the 1990s," specifically '98 when MSU won the SEC West. The baseball jerseys will "be worn during the team's three-game series against Ole Miss this weekend" (CLARIONLEDGER.com, 4/10).
