Under Armour Reportedly Making A Big Play To Land Univ. Of Texas Apparel Deal

Under Armour is "making a serious bid to outfit" the Univ. of Texas athletic programs, "even though Texas has been a die-hard Nike school" since '00, according to Chip Brown of HORNSDIGEST.com. A source said that a deal between Texas and UA "could be the largest apparel deal for a major university in college athletics history," going for as much as 10 years and $150M. Brown noted Nike has "always been seen as the leader because of the history between Nike and Texas." But officials said that UA "is not deterred and will continue to make an aggressive bid." The officials added that Texas men's AD Steve Patterson "is enamored" with UA (HORNSDIGEST.com, 5/28). SB NATION's Wescott Eberts noted there has been speculation that UT "could leave Nike after Patterson bucked the status quo by dumping industry giant Collegiate Licensing Co. as the school's master licensee for retail needs, instead joining USC as the only major college brand represented by another upstart company in Dallas-based 289c Apparel" (SBNATION.com, 5/28).