Among the Mountain West Conference's 11 full-time members, Nevada will become the third to use AdidasGETTY IMAGES
The Univ. of Nevada is switching from Nike to Adidas after the school "agreed to a seven-year contract" through the '24-25 academic year, according to Chris Murray of the RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL. Nevada AD Doug Knuth said that the contract "isn't finalized yet." But a source said that it is "twice as much as the latest Nike contract and somewhere in the $900,000 per year range." Knuth noted that Nike and Under Armour also "made strong proposals." Knuth said, "There aren't a lot of Group of 5 schools that get interest and get offers from the three big brands ... so we were pretty excited to have that level of competition to help drive up what we were asking for." Murray notes among the Mountain West Conference's 11 full-time members, Nevada "will become the third to use Adidas," joining San Jose State and Wyoming. Nevada used Adidas from '05-07 "before inking the first of two five-year deals with Nike" in '08. Its contract with Nike, which expires today, "called for $400,000 annually in equipment and apparel, plus a $10,000 bonus for being part of the N7 program, which supports Native American communities" (RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, 5/31).
COLOR SCHEMES: Murray notes after wearing 13 uniforms last season, Nevada men's basketball coach Eric Musselman "expects that number to, at minimum, stay the same next season." When Musselman was hired, he "quickly went about branding his program and the more jerseys, the merrier." Musselman said that the "multitude of options his team has to pick from -- the most in the nation -- is important to his program." Meanwhile, Nevada football "also will get new threads" for the '18 season. But coach Jay Norvell "doesn't expect any crazy changes." Norvell: "We'll have some creative freedom in designing. We're going to talk to them later ... and see what the possibilities are" (RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, 5/31).
