Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez on Thursday addressed rumors that the school may switch apparel providers, saying "nothing has changed" with the current adidas deal that runs through the '15-16 academic year, according to Andy Baggot of the WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL. Sources have said that UW is "gearing up to switch to Under Armour" for the '16-17 year. Alvarez said that he met with UA reps "when the UW men's basketball team played at Maryland in late February." He added he has also talked to reps from Nike and adidas. While he "described adidas as a 'good partner,' he elected to let a Jan. 1 deadline pass without renewal because he wanted to see what the market held." Alvarez: "We'd be foolish not to take a look and test the market if we have that availability." Baggot notes adidas is giving UW a combined $3.5M in merchandise and cash this year, with $3.55M due next year. Any "change in the equipment and apparel contract must be approved by the UW Athletic Board and the Board of Regents" (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 4/17). In Portland, Matthew Kish noted some of the "biggest university apparel contracts expire" in '16, including UW, Auburn, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Michigan recently stated that it will "consider offers" from current provider adidas as well as Nike and UA when its current deal expires next year (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/14).
