Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/259072
UNDER THE DOME the new deal, the company's stock price jumped 24.4 percent to $105.64 from $84.93, which is a small part of the company's fast rise over the past decade. Plank recalled his first trip to Notre Dame's campus in 1997 when his com- pany represented visiting Georgia Tech. He slept in the away locker room the night be- fore the game be- cause he couldn't arrange for a hotel room. The com- pany had $110,000 i n re v e n u e t h a t year. In 2013, they topped $2 billion. That still makes Under Armour a s m a l l d i s r u p t e r compared to indus- try giants adidas and Nike, which makes roughly 12 times that much. But Under Armour is starting to gain a foot- hold, and its deal with Notre Dame is a signifi- cant milestone on that path. "This is a pinch-me momen t for me, n o question," Plank said. "It puts us on a com- pletely different level, and frankly we are ready for that level." Notre Dame is the 13th college that will wear the Under Armour label. They join a group of schools that in- cludes Maryland, A u b u r n , N o r t h - w e s t e r n , B o s t o n C o l l e g e , S o u t h Carolina and Navy, among others. N o t r e D a m e r a n k e d t h i rd i n merchandise sales among major uni- v e r s i t i e s i n t h e 2 0 1 2 - 1 3 s c h o o l year according to the Collegiate Li- censing Company. South Carolina was previously Under A r m o u r ' s m o s t p o p u l a r c l i e n t , coming in at 16th on the CLC's list. Five of its schools, n o t i n c l u d i n g Notre Dame, fall in the top 50. The new partner- ship won't show up officially until the beginning of next fall's sport season when all Irish teams will trade in a moun- tain of adidas-branded wardrobes for their new duds. Swarbrick and Plank hope that will be the start of a relationship that helps both sides climb to the peak of their respective industries. ✦ THE RICH GET RICHER Notre Dame's new deal with Under Armour will provide another big bump to its athletic coffers starting in July. It should help the Irish take another step in closing the gap between them and Texas, the nation's most valuable collegiate sports franchise. According to a study by Indiana Univer- sity professor Ryan Brewer, the Irish and the Longhorns are in a class of their own when it comes to the overall financial value of their athletic programs. Both schools' athletic de- partments are worth more than $125 million more than the next closest competitor, Michi- gan. Brewer valued Texas at $875 million and Notre Dame a bit behind at $811 million. The $400 million stadium expansion the Irish have planned for the next five years will also help close that gap even more. Here are the top 10 most valuable athletic programs in the country: Rk. School Projected Value 1. Texas $875 million 2. Notre Dame $811.5 million 3. Michigan $685.5 million 4. Ohio State $674.8 million 5. Florida $660.8 million 6. Oklahoma $655.2 million 7. Alabama $640.1 million 8. Georgia $581.8 million 9. Auburn $537.6 million 10. LSU $529.8 million