Michigan to...Nike?

I am a soccer lover, so Adidas has always had a place in my heart, but Nike just connects and resonates with the youth of today. From the shoes that my teens wear (kobe's, Durants, CP3, Free runs, etc) to the dry fit / combat clothes they sport. The youth of today vote for Nike with their wallet and lifestyle. Hope UM takes that into the value of the brand...especially since Michigan hasn't necessarily been high on the "Cool Factor" for the last 7-8 years. I would not be too disappointed with Adidas again, but from what I have seen from Under Armour, I would be crushed. They try WAY TOO HARD to be edgy and cool. Maryland's uniforms look like Rainbow Bright puked on them (80's cartoon reference).

No one is analyzing the yellow?  Is it "maize" enough?  Why the white swoosh?  This looks like it took an intern 15 minutes to design.  Weak effort overall.

You can kiss adidas goodbye. Highly unlikely for Michigan to renew the contract. Times have changed for the better!

This is a business pitch we wont know anything until Hackett makes a formal announcement by the summer or december.

Split M

Nike is trolling us, good job Mr. Knight

 

Can we switch to Asics? Kick ass running shoes. I currently run in Kayanos for my marathon training.

Maybe we should have a camp that allows all sports gear manufacturers from around the country at all levels come and demonstrate their capabilities, just for love of thr game.

Today at my club with a semi high Nike guy, and he said UA is paying massive contracts, and that he expects UA to make a huge pitch to get as many Big Ten teams as possible. With Maryland being part of the B10 now it kind of makes sense.

When I think about all sports, suddenly, Nike is the obvious choice. I don't want UA or Adidas if I'm playing every sport. As a fan it's not that big of a deal honestly, but as an athlete...there are some sports Adidas and UA just don't do very well.

All the jerseys on Mden are 50% off, i don't know if that says anything?..

I still have a Nike hat from 1999 that I bring out of retirement on occassion. It's tore up like Pamela Anderson over the years; unlike her however, it still looks good. I haven't bought one thing from Addidas since this softball glove that my ex-gf bought me in 2007. It was crap and my hand paid the price because I didn't want to speak up about the quality. When she wasn't at a game, I would put my old glove on without even thinking twice. Somebody actually ended up stealing it out of my car lol. Well, one man's problem is another man's problem, right?

Anyway, that glove told me a lot about Addidas and I haven't been tempted to drop any of my money on their stuff since Michigan switched over. I'm not a fan of Under Armour either. Some of their stuff looks/feels alright, but I have never been impressed enough to buy anything they make. It's just one man's opinion. :)

By the way, this is my first post. It's nice to meet fellow Wolverines and Michigan fans. :)

I'd be fine with Nike or Under Armour. UA wouldn't mess with the look and Nike would have phenomenal apparel.

It is acceptable for football.

It is so far below par on basketball it's not even funny.

I'd much rather stick with Adidas than go to UA. I'd prefer we went back to Nike though.

I just want the adidas curse to be over. They've been bad ever since they've had adidas. I'm not superstitious I'm just viewing a correlation.

UA looks better than adidas!

I stopped buying Michigan gear from Adidas a few ago - I bought my basic ('Michigan Football / Michigan Basketball') t-shirts in 09. They are probably due to be replaced but I am over adidas and the whole era from the 07'-'14 seasons.

UA is a solid entrance into the apparel game, but they are no Nike, with respect to NIke's solid construction across their entire portfolio. Nike is a way different company now than what they were 10 years ago, they have really upped their game with respect to customer satisfation, having law abiding/safe manufacturing practices and facilities, and investing in new material research and development.

Their stock is at an all time high - there is too much at stake for them to cut corners, and they don't want to mess up a good thing. They are printing money at this point, pretty much at the top of their game.

Please, please let us go back to Nike. I would buy at least $300-400 worth of replacement Michigan gear (t-shirts, hoodies, pullovers, polos, etc.)

In the conversations I've had with fellow alums, I know there is a lot of pent up demand/money waiting for Nike to come back.

Key point - We do not need to have the biggest $ deal in CFB. We only need 75% (4.5mil?) of what we had with adidas, and the increase in apparel sales will make up the rest for the AD's revenue.

It looks like UA lets athletes wear whatever shoes they want.

Maryland wrestler with UA uniform and Nike shoes...

Volleyball wearing Mizuno shoes.

Wouldn't this be the best of both worlds?  The small teams can choose the best shoes for their sport and not just Nike (which doesn't make the best products for many sports).

For what it's worth...

I still have some friends in the equipment dept, and they've told me on several occasions that the players (football, baseball specifically) HATE the adidas gear they're issued.

If you look at pictures of many of our more prominent athletes, you'll see them all wearing Nike when not in uniform (or practice gear).

You'd be silly not to think the gear players get has at least a minor impact on recruiting; more young athletes prefer Nike. Although tough to quantify exactly how much it helped, Oregon basically being Nike U. certainly seems to have helped them.

Here's hoping all this Nike talk is true. It certainly wouldn't hurt us.

Rumors of British Kinight, or Voit. LA gear also would be cool.