Georgia Tech's apparel deal with Russell Athletic expires next June, and AD Todd Stansbury "has been negotiating with Adidas, Nike and Under Armour to be the new outfitter" for the school, according to Ken Sugiura of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Stansbury said, "With the direction that Russell's kind of moving in corporate-wise, we're going to be making a transition." He added that he "hopes to have a decision on the athletic department's next apparel deal in the next few months." Sugiura noted GT is the "only power-conference school under contract" with Russell and is one of two schools in FBS -- Southern Miss the other -- that is "not aligned with the big three of Adidas, Nike and Under Armour." Russell has partnered with GT since '92, but school athletes, fans and athletic department staff were "largely unenthusiastic" about the company. Fans believe the Russell partnership is a "hindrance in recruiting," as the company "lacks the appeal" of the other major apparel providers (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/19).
