How much is a 10-year, head-to-toe apparel deal with Yale University worth?
Around $16 million to Under Armour, which is expected to announce a decade-long hookup with the institution this week.
 |
Under Armour will design and supply footwear, apparel and accessories for Yale’s 35 sports.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
|
Under Armour will design and supply footwear, apparel and accessories for Yale’s 35 varsity sports. It’s also expected to take an extended performance-based collection to retail.
Under Armour has 32 other Division I head-to-toe deals, including Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Temple, along with 250 colleges overall. However, this deal represents its first relationship with an Ivy League school. Consequently, Yale’s eight-figure deal, effective July 1, should reverberate across the “ancient eight” conference, if not at every school lacking a comprehensive apparel deal. Previously, Yale had a hodgepodge of deals, including individual contracts with Nike for its football, lacrosse and basketball teams.
“This isn’t Wisconsin or Notre Dame, but for us, Yale is still something unique,” said Ryan Kuehl, vice president of sports marketing and sponsorships at Under Armour, noting Yale’s NCAA hockey championship in 2013. “It’s an opportunity for us to associate with an iconic brand universitywide, and we can be as traditional as they want.”
The deal includes rights fees, an apparel/equipment allowance, and a marketing commitment that will see Under Armour branding at Yale’s relatively clean athletic venues, as well as within the university’s locker and training rooms and in athletic hospitality spaces. There’s also a commitment to help Yale stage more events on campus, get more games on TV and an effort to get Yale into more of the sports specialty retail channel heavily serviced by Under Armour.
“They’ll help us elevate our retail presence regionally and we are very impressed by Under Armour’s commitment to player safety and innovation,” said Patrick O’Neill, Yale’s associate athletic director for sports marketing.
Under Armour is 20 years old this year, while Yale was founded in 1701. However, their dissimilarity formed a unique bond. “We’re a different sort of school for Under Armour and for us to be with Jordan Spieth’s brand will be great for Yale,” O’Neill said.
WME-IMG has been the sponsorship consultant for Yale athletics since 2013.
