Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
1 2 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State's 10-year, $300 million agreement with Adidas officially be- gan on July 1. The deal, first announced last September, makes Adidas the Nit- tany Lions' "official footwear, uniform, apparel and sideline partner." It took ef- fect at 12:01 a.m., ending PSU's relation- ship with Nike after 33 years. Penn State's partnership with Adidas means that every athletics program at the university will get new uniforms. However, the changes won't be radical. Aside from the logos, PSU's football jer- seys will be nearly identical to the ones the Nittany Lions have been wearing for decades. Fan merchandise went on sale July 1 on the Adidas website and is now avail- able from other online retailers as well as brick-and-mortar stores. The Pegula Ice Arena played host to a pop-up shop in early July to help launch the partner- ship. In a news release promoting its ini- tial line of Penn State apparel, Adidas noted that the collection was designed in collaboration with PSU and was "informed by the Blue & White DNA" of such past Nittany Lion greats as women's soccer player Ali Krieger and football standouts Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter, all of whom have rep- resented the Adidas brand. Krieger, a now-retired star of the U.S. Women's National Team, appeared with Carter and the Nittany Lion mascot in a pro- motional film celebrating the start of the partnership. For Penn State, the switch to Adidas was driven in part by a need to bring in new revenue at a time in college ath- letics when even the nation's biggest schools are feeling squeezed by the re- cent changes in player compensation. "This partnership is about far more than apparel," athletics director Pat- rick Kraft said in a news release. "It's a bold statement about the future of Penn State Athletics and our unwaver- ing commitment to competing at the highest level. This partnership repre- sents a landmark investment in Penn State Athletics, one that will create new opportunities for our student-athletes and strengthen every program as we p u rs u e c h a m p i o n s h i p s. This is about giving our student-athletes every pos- sible advantage. It's about giving Nittany Nation an exciting new way to wear its pride. And it's about build- ing something together that will elevate Penn State Athletics on both the national and global stage." Adidas has historically been associ- ated with international soccer, but it has been making inroads in American col- lege markets in recent years. Both of last year's College Football Playoff title game participants — Indiana and Miami — are Adidas schools, as are Washington, Ne- braska, NC State, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Louisville, Kansas, Mississippi State and Grambling. In ad- dition, Tennessee's partnership with Adidas launched on July 2, and Utah will join the stable next summer. Chris McGuire, Adidas' vice presi- dent of sports marketing for North America, said in a prepared statement that "few organizations in sports can claim a fan base as passionate as Penn State. As we launch this partnership, we want fans to know that passion is shared by Adidas and our former Nittany Lion athlete partners. Seeing Abdul and Ali come together to support the official launch date is special, but this is just the beginning of our commitment to create special experiences for every student- athlete and fan who bleeds blue and white." ■ PSU's Adidas Partnership Launched In July G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M Aside from the logo, Penn State's football uniforms will be largely unchanged from when Nike was the univer- sity's apparel supplier. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS