Univ. of Cincinnati sports teams will "switch from Adidas to Under Armour gear effective July 1," according to a source cited by Tom Groeschen of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. The source yesterday said that the deal "will be much larger than UC's current contract with Adidas." Groeshcen notes the school's contract with adidas "runs through" June '15. The source: "This is a monster deal, and it will dwarf what UC had before." The source "declined to give figures" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 1/22). ESPN.com's Darren Rovell tweeted UC "will go from getting $1.5M/year in cash & product up to as much as $5M/year" (TWITTER.com, 1/21). In Portland, Matthew Kish notes UC is "scheduled to receive" $2.1M in apparel from adidas this year and $525,000 in cash. The UA deal is the "latest sign that the bidding war for top programs continues to escalate." Nike recently extended its deal with the Univ. of Florida and "increased the annual equipment allotment" by $1M "in order to extend the deal" to '24. Nike is the "dominant player in the collegiate athletic business, but Adidas and Under Armour have been willing to pay top dollar to sign prominent teams." While adidas is parting with UC, it "recently signed Miami and Arizona State -- for double the money it had been receiving from Nike -- in order to strengthen its business in the Southwest and Florida" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/21).
