Under Armour to clothe the turtle

Rapidly growing performance apparel company Under Armour has inked a five-year deal becoming the official football uniform supplier to the University of Maryland. It is the first outerwear deal the company has signed and will serve as a testing ground for the company, which may attempt to branch widely into the uniform business in 2005.

Baltimore-based Under Armour has ties to the University of Maryland, where founder Kevin Plank played football in the early 1990s. In addition, the deal comes as the Atlantic Coast Conference prepares to expand to 12 teams next year, which the company sees as an opportunity for exposure to additional fans and schools. The deal gives the company the right to use Maryland marks and images in advertising.

Precise terms of the deal were not available, but the deal includes two mutual one-year options after year five and gives Under Armour exclusive marketing rights to Maryland football jersey replicas. Under Armour will supply the football pants, jerseys and all practice and sideline wear, and will make the practice and sideline wear available at retail. There is a "standard royalty" component on retail sales, said Bill Kraus, Under Armour's vice president of sports marketing. The company is lining up retail partners to be announced later.

As part of the deal, Under Armour is redesigning the team's football uniform and will unveil it at the annual Spring Game in late April. Kraus said the redesign will highlight the school's four colors more evenly, slightly playing down the uniform's primary red to give more prominence to its yellow, black and white elements.

Kraus said the uniform will incorporate innovations making it lighter, more stretchable and durable, and more "compressible" than competitors' products, which will make it harder for defenders to grab. He said the company is considering branching into pro sports and into basketball and baseball uniforms, although "football is our core competency."