Recruits react to Nike

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

This stuff matters. Recruits care and Nike is a powerful tool.

If the rumblings of Michigan getting Air Jordan/Jumpman sponsorship are true, that would basketball recruiting a boost.

 

Michigan going to Nike yess.

— CJ Turner1 (@cj_turner1) July 6, 2015

Michigan to Nike

— Matt Falcon (@mfalcon21) July 6, 2015

Michigan to Nike is so sweet if it's true #GoBlue

— R.I.P. MARY (@THEGIF7) July 6, 2015

Wouldn't mind rocking them Nike unies#Michigan #GoBlue

— DILLARD (@_DBK8) July 6, 2015

Nike please

— Erik Swenson (@Eiek77) July 6, 2015

Ron Utah

July 6th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^

It's not about a fashion contest.  I'm not sure what line of work you're in, but dressing appropriately not only helps to create an impression, but also helps get you in the frame of mind to perform at a high level.

In my experience as a coach (and player), this absolutely holds true with players.  We got our team new uniforms for district playoffs and went out and played the best game of our season.  Obviously this is just anecdotal evidence and I do not believe that uniforms = success, but the point is that the unis did hype the kids up walking into the locker room with each player having his new uniform hanging at his locker was a special moment for them, and for us as coaches.

When I was a player, uniforms were the last thing on my mind.  But it sure did feel good when we got new ones, especially if they had a cool design.

I seriously, seriously doubt that we will get any recruits just becuase Nike makes our stuff, but I do believe that having Nike as our sponsor is more attractive and just adds another positive for most (not all) recruits.

This a long way of saying that if having Nike as our sponsor is a positive in the eyes of most kids, why not do it?

The Mad Hatter

July 6th, 2015 at 2:27 PM ^

to believe that anyone would choose a school based upon what brand of shirt they're going to be wearing.  That just sounds fucking crazy to me.

Oh well, I was going to go to Michigan, but OSU has Nike and there's nothing more important in life than having cool shoes.  Said no one ever.

MGJS SuperKick Party

July 6th, 2015 at 2:29 PM ^

When you have a few moments, do some research about AAU basketball and Nike and Adidas... It's actually really interesting.

Nike spends so much marketing money every year so we think Nike is superior. When really, are they? Prolly not.

They do have a reason why they have WD pulling out his wallet and throwing fistfuls of money at them.

schreibee

July 6th, 2015 at 2:49 PM ^

Re: Caring 100X more about football than other sports - I watched a bit of the Women's World Cup Final with a British friend, and he respectfully requests we cease referring to our game as football, and join the rest of the world in calling what we call soccer football.

I asked what we should then call our game, and he suggested American Football. Adding "Even though it's only played with the feet by the kickers, the most derided member of the team."

So he wasn't really sure what we should call our game, but requests we stop calling it football.

KO Stradivarius

July 6th, 2015 at 3:13 PM ^

that we really don't give a rats ass what the British think about our Football.  This is the country that has "Bobbies" for police officers; refer to automobile Hoods as "Bonnets", etc, etc.  We kicked them out of this continent long ago and they can blow themselves if they don't like it.  With all due respect, of course...   

Ronnie Kaye

July 6th, 2015 at 3:42 PM ^

There were plenty of better options before we reached the point of no return and they were all ignored. It's never going to change but I hate that we insisted on taking the name of another sport that virtually the entire world already knew as football. Ugly Americanism to say the least.

grumbler

July 6th, 2015 at 7:28 PM ^

Your British friend was as ignorant as the Brits I knew when I lived there.  "Foot ball" was originally the term used for a ball game played by foot soldiers in the medieval period (the "foot" comes from that, as distinguished from "horse ball") - though the game was, of course, older than that.  The foot soldiers played a game more like rugby than soccer or American football.  In the 19th Century, foot ball diverged and became Rugby Football, Association Football, and American Football.  If the jerk insists that you refer to American Football as "American Football" and not just "football", insist that he refer to Association Football as "Association Football" and not just "football."

So request on my behalf that he stop being an ignorant jerk on the topic of what to call the various forms of "foot ball:" ball games played afoot.

03 Blue 07

July 6th, 2015 at 2:57 PM ^

Hey, you know, just because you don't get it doesn't mean it's "crazy," which is of course a somewhat insulting word; you're saying that anyone who doesn't share your opinion is definitionally insane. Huh.

Let's say the following are all true for Hypothetical Recruit A:

1. His AAU team is sponsored by Nike;

2. His entire AAU program is sponsored by Nike; 

3. Therefore his coach(es)/potential mentor(s) makes a living cashing checks mainly from Nike;

4.  The kid prefers to have the best shoes and equipment available when he steps on the court to give him the best chance of victory (if you think Adidas is comparable to Nike in actual quality of basketball shoes/apparel, well, I'd have to respectfully disagree, as would the marketplace as a whole; see, for example, all of the times the Adidas jerseys literally disintegrated during basketball and football games, which was absurd).

5.  Nike tells the kid "hey, go to a Nike school...or don't, and we'll stop funding your AAU program, your coach, etc."

6. For shits and giggles, let's say the kid has two younger relatives who also play in the same AAU program.

Is the kid "crazy" for caring about this? Or is the old man on the message board (err, young man acting like an old guy on a message board) the one who is crazy? Or is the kid less selfish than the guy on the message board maybe? Or maybe the kid knows more about what basketball equipment he prefers to play at his highest level than the guy on the message board? The fact is, you calling it "crazy" says more about you than it does about anyone else; perhaps you should reconsider your position regarding the sanity of third parties vis-a-vis athletic apparel, at least for purposes of the (not at all far-fetched) hypothetical laid out above. 

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

July 6th, 2015 at 3:20 PM ^

rise of 7-on-7 tournaments in football with great skepticism.. It's getting the sport so much closer to AAU basketball.

AAU basketball and the shoe brands are a cesspool. Coaches, trainers, handlers - cash and perks flow like crazy in the vicinity of the top 40 or so players. I am surprised some guys (Beilein) can recruit effectively or even stand the shenanigans.

jaydubya

July 6th, 2015 at 3:12 PM ^

Nike is not perceived as superior to Adidas and others solely due to marketing.  Most -- including myself (and the recruits WD mentioned) -- believe that Nike's designs are simply better than their competitors'.

Sure, marketing helps Nike's case, but don't discount the fact that their product looks better in the eyes of many.

Mr. Yost

July 6th, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^

But I think it would be a lot more realistic (unfortunately) for a kid to be 50/50 between 2 schools and the apparel company give that extra .01%

Now in men's basketball...all bets are off. Some kids won't even LOOK at you if you're not the same apparel company as their high school or AAU team. We all know the reasons why, but that's basketball. However, it (clearly) makes a difference in the other sports as well.

The reaction to the announcement will be insane, just sit back and watch. I'm sure WD will keep us in the loop on all of the Women's Rowining tweets for Nike in addition to the other sports.

MGoBender

July 6th, 2015 at 10:28 PM ^

If two schools are 50/50, there is going to be some factor (distance from home, playing time, etc etc etc) that is more of a factor than apparel.  

If you had to list the 5 most important things in making a college choice, they'd be what?

Coach, playing time situation, professional development, geographical area, campus fit, parents' opinions, academics, facilities?

Saying something like "apparel can be the 0.01% swing" is not living in reality.  That's not how it works.  It's not a prceise formula.

Yes, there are outliers - somewhere someone might really care.  But even in basketball we see the top recruits go against their AAU sponsor because, while 18, they understand that there are more important things to consider.

And for, maybe, every 2 tweets from athletes excited about Nike, there might be 1 player who doesn't care at all or preferred UnderArmour or adidas.  But they aren't going to tweet that out.

Yes, apparel matters.  Everyone has a preference.  But there are much more important things for the players.  In fact, it probably matters more to fans since apparel is our main tangible way to be connected to the school.

Quail2theVict0r

July 6th, 2015 at 2:33 PM ^

Choose a school over another? Maybe not consciously. But when kids react like this is certainly is a selling point to some extent. It's something you get to add to the pamphlet or whatever you give the recruits -- or maybe the PowerPoint. It's no different than the "our helmets have wings" pitch. 

wahooverine

July 6th, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^

No one has even once claimed that any kid's entire decision is based on the uniform's brand name.  Nike is another feather in our cap, another bullet on the resume, another factor among several that resonates positively in the minds of many recruits. In football I doubt any one kid's decision will ever turn on something so trivial, but I think being a Nike school does add additional "sex appeal" to the overall image (dare I say brandname?) of Michigan in the eyes of recruits. The recruits tweets today prove that. Being plugged into the Nike marketing machine gives an already highly visible collegiate athletic brand even more visibility to people to care (football playing kids) and some swag to boot.

814 East U

July 6th, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^

Kids are more familiar with Nike and like the products Nike provides (because they use them more). It's not the main factor AT ALL but it plays a minor role (especially in basketball).

Ty Butterfield

July 6th, 2015 at 2:33 PM ^

For the love of God, I wish Michigan would just make the damn announcement already.

LKLIII

July 6th, 2015 at 2:38 PM ^

Actually it's pretty smart for them to drag it out.  Letting the online rumor mill fly for 12-24 hours prior to formal confirmation lets the PR news bump last for another full day.  Instead of getting a half day news cycle out of it, they'll get a 2 day free ad campaign.

East German Judge

July 6th, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^

Whether any of us like it, agree with it, understand it, or care about it, this is the power of Nike.  Not that their threads are so much better nor the rubber in their shoes, but it is the Marketing team that has created the image that has made the SWOOSH desireable. 

Good news is that we wont be having threads about Nike vs. Adidas vs. Under Armour vs. Puma vs. Skeechers vs. L.A. Knights much longer.

Danwillhor

July 6th, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^

I'd state in every one that this is the biggest reason and need for change. Teenagers overwhelmingly prefer Nike. Adidas is Adidas. The best thing they have (the old leaf logo) they decided to swap for.....3 bars? They are just the definition of generic and recruits DO factor in that stuff in their process. It's crazy and kinda sad but they do because they're kids. If for nothing else we need to go back to Nike for recruiting. The Swoosh holds sway and a ton of it.

mGrowOld

July 6th, 2015 at 2:44 PM ^

I am 56 and have happily come to peace with the fact that there are many, many things that are VERY VERY important to some people that I don't give a fuck about.  Things like the brand of shoe my alma mater's football team wear being prominent on that list.  I do get that some people stay up at night worrying about this stff what I don't get is why.

But hey - i also dont give a fuck about what kind of phone you have or the brand of coffee you drink eitiher so there's that too.

LSAClassOf2000

July 6th, 2015 at 3:33 PM ^

It is this sort of logic which gives me hope that I might yet get the Wusthof cutlery for my birthday as I did explain to my wife that it was a popular brand and I considered it something that would definitely be the best for my kitchen (historically, this has led down the road to a nice card and a bag full of trinkets from the discount bin at CVS). We shall see if we are both correct, I suppose.