If Tennessee Leaves Nike Question

[HeavenUniversity]

If Tennessee switches from Nike to Adidas, do stores have to sell all their Nike merchandise by a certain date or can they continue to sell what they have left of Vols Nike gear after Adidas products are in the market? Just wondering if there might be some big discount Vols sales in the near future?

 

[DeerPark12]

If Tennessee switches from Nike to Adidas, do stores have to sell all their Nike merchandise by a certain date or can they continue to sell what they have left of Vols Nike gear after Adidas products are in the market? Just wondering if there might be some big discount Vols sales in the near future?

Depends on their relationship with the new company. When Tennessee switched to Nike, they stipulated that retailers could not stock the Nike product if they were still selling old Adidas product in the same location. No idea if Adidas does this, but I would assume they do.

Nike would still have the rights to ship Tennessee gear to retailers through June 30, 2026, but I think the last shipment will be the baseball jersey/hat/tshirt order that usually arrives in mid-March. The last new design you'll see a Tennessee logo on will be the NCAA Tournament bench shirts.

Retailers are free to sell what's been delivered to them until it's gone. Places like Marshalls/TJMaxx sold Adidas Tennessee back stock and retailer returns for a couple of years after we moved.

 

[chuck0303]

If Tennessee switches from Nike to Adidas, do stores have to sell all their Nike merchandise by a certain date or can they continue to sell what they have left of Vols Nike gear after Adidas products are in the market? Just wondering if there might be some big discount Vols sales in the near future?

I don't buy or own any Nike merchandise. Burn them. I'm still boycotting Nike from way back. Why? Because I can.

 

[rockytop989]

I don't buy or own any Nike merchandise. Burn them. I'm still boycotting Nike from way back. Why? Because I can.

I’m pretty sure OP doesn’t care about what’s in your closet or your positive attitude. Hope you have a joyful Friday.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

I really hope we don't switch, I actually like all our uniforms for once. Adidas was all over the place. The only thing I would change for the football uniforms is the numbers bigger. The basketball uniforms are perfection, other than I guess the black one but for a black one it's good enough and they kept it simple. I like pretty much all the baseball uniforms and softball unfiorms. Honestly the only ones I'd change is the women's basketball because imo they need a more throwback look like the men got. They still use that original Nike template kinda and it looks a bit out of place now imo.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Why are people acting like this is such a big deal?

 

[RDU VOL#14]

I don't buy or own any Nike merchandise. Burn them. I'm still boycotting Nike from way back. Why? Because I can.

Are you hosting a telethon you’d like to tell us about ?

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Why are people acting like this is such a big deal?

There is large money involved which dwarfs NIL money or coach's salaries which are massive topics here from time to time.

It's an example of how big the business of UT Athletics is that Nike and Adidas will offer huge money for the rights.

One could easily draw parallels to the hated "making it all a business" conversation about NIL and players moving to the highest bidder...... but I won't. Or I will.

It's big business.

 

[molsen81]

Someone on this thread is angry. Man, get some therapy.

 

[Flogballs]

Why are people acting like this is such a big deal?

It’s weird there is such a sizeble portion of our fan base who seem to have a very emotional response to a logo.

Like most emotional arguments it’s pointless. UT should go with the highest bidder end of story. Especially in this day and age.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

It’s weird there is such a sizeble portion of our fan base who seem to have a very emotional response to a logo.

Like most emotional arguments it’s pointless. UT should go with the highest bidder end of story. Especially in this day and age.

It's not that weird. This isnt something impossible to wrap your brain around.

1.) Like any brand, people have preferences. You Like Coke, I like Pepsi. You prefer Samsung, I prefer Apple. You prefer Chevy, I prefer Ford. Nike is a popular apparel brand that a LOT of people prefer for various reasons. If you're a Tennessee fan that buys a lot of Tennessee apparel, chances are you think Nike is better quality. If we switch to Adidas, that means that a good chunk of fans will have to start buying a brand they dont like. Thats not nothing. It's something that directly impacts the fans.

2.) There IS a perception out there that the large majority of recruits prefer Nike over Adidas. I believe that's true. Nike is like Led Zeppelin. They are an eternally hip brand that never falls out of favor, no matter how much trends change. It is as solid and unwavering in terms of favorability as you're going to find in branding! Plus Nike always associates itself with the highest profile athletes and is generally synonymous with premium quality. I dont want to lose that brand association when the majority of recruits prefer it.

3.) I hear people say "well recruits care about NIL money more now than brand apparel." Well, ok but other schools have NIL too. What if a recruit is deciding between us and a Nike branded school and everything else is equal? Apparel branding could very well be the deciding factor! I dont want to give that potential leverage to our rivals!

 

[The Future]

If Tennessee switches from Nike to Adidas, do stores have to sell all their Nike merchandise by a certain date or can they continue to sell what they have left of Vols Nike gear after Adidas products are in the market? Just wondering if there might be some big discount Vols sales in the near future?

From what I hear in K-Town, this time around with Adidas,, deal is,, Tennessee will design their own uniforms and shoes in house, then tell Adidas, this is what we want. That gives players and designers at UT to come up with a cool uni. Gotta be better than what Adidas came up with last time around. I guess we'll see...

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

There is large money involved which dwarfs NIL money or coach's salaries which are massive topics here from time to time.

It's an example of how big the business of UT Athletics is that Nike and Adidas will offer huge money for the rights.

One could easily draw parallels to the hated "making it all a business" conversation about NIL and players moving to the highest bidder...... but I won't. Or I will.

It's big business.

But it’s not like we will all of a sudden become a 5 win team if we don’t have Nike.

 

[volfaninky]

But it’s not like we will all of a sudden become a 5 win team if we don’t have Nike.

When kids leave and don’t come here because of adidas it could. Name me one program with adidas that is elite?

 

[jasonvol18]

I don't buy or own any Nike merchandise. Burn them. I'm still boycotting Nike from way back. Why? Because I can.

Good..More for me!

 

[CINCYVOL]

Anyone know when the new Starter jackets will be out?

 

[Nicovfl8]

I really hope they keep Nike, adidas was so ugly and looked cheap. Recruits also like the different and cleaner looking uniforms that Nike offers.

 

[OldVol]

Not a lot of difference in the 2 companies. Both are making their apparel with child labor in China. They make just enough in VN and Cambodia to be able to say they do it there. The majority of Adidas factories are in China. There’s no moral high ground for either company. They’re both guilty of using slave labor with horrendous working conditions.

If you’re going to pick nits, you might as well go with the one who gets the most of their slave labor so they can give us the best deal. It is what it is.

 

[TrojanorVol]

Been wearing and loving Nike since kapernick. Don't give a crap like most now. Whoever brings most Ws to Vols athletics is who I want and especially if its going to bring Ws to our football basketball baseball and softball programs. Make it make sense.

 

[onevol74]

When kids leave and don’t come here because of adidas it could. Name me one program with adidas that is elite?

How many championships have we won with Nike?

 

[Jaxon_Vol2017]

Been wearing and loving Nike since kapernick. Don't give a crap like most now. Whoever brings most Ws to Vols athletics is who I want and especially if its going to bring Ws to our football basketball baseball and softball programs. Make it make sense.

You're a fan of his? Really?

 

[Brave Volunteer]

I really hope they keep Nike, adidas was so ugly and looked cheap. Recruits also like the different and cleaner looking uniforms that Nike offers.

I agree. I think it would be a mistake to switch, for reasons I already explained here. I dont care if Adidas is offering more money. There are other factors to consider than just money.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

I agree. I think it would be a mistake to switch, for reasons I already explained here. I dont care if Adidas is offering more money. There are other factors to consider than just money.

If UT is to be a bell cow, and IF IF IF we really get absolute design control and publicly involve team leaders and have a few early home runs with both uniform and apparel, the script can be flipped. Will go with DW, either way, to do anything else is a bit logic challenging. He has a great hit rate on all moves so far. Bet he has a great risk/reward analysis. Both out there.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

If UT is to be a bell cow, and IF IF IF we really get absolute design control and publicly involve team leaders and have a few early home runs with both uniform and apparel, the script can be flipped. Will go with DW, either way, to do anything else is a bit logic challenging. He has a great hit rate on all moves so far. Bet he has a great risk/reward analysis. Both out there.

I'm sure he does and of course, we ALL here are just a bunch of jack leg arm chair AD's LOL! I can only formulate an opinion based on past experience and general feedback. Going by that, it seems to me that it would be an unforced error to switch to Adidas. If we stick with Nike, even at a lesser lucrative deal, the train just keeps rolling down the track. If we switch to Adidas, all this discussion, doubt, second guessing, possible loss of recruiting leverage, etc suddenly gets introduced into the equation, and we dont need that. This staff is struggling enough in recruiting as it is. We dont need to risk introducing chaos into the mix when we dont have to. Only looking at this in terms of dollar signs would be incredibly short-sighted. There are far more variables to consider.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

I'm sure he does and of course, we ALL here are just a bunch of jack leg arm chair AD's LOL! I can only formulate an opinion based on past experience and general feedback. Going by that, it seems to me that it would be an unforced error to switch to Adidas. If we stick with Nike, even at a lesser lucrative deal, the train just keeps rolling down the track. If we switch to Adidas, all this discussion, doubt, second guessing, possible loss of recruiting leverage, etc suddenly gets introduced into the equation, and we dont need that. This staff is struggling enough in recruiting as it is. We dont need to risk introducing chaos into the mix when we dont have to. Only looking at this in terms of dollar signs would be incredibly short-sighted. There are far more variables to consider.

That is why DW’s analysis is really the only one worth a damn. It is that simple.