After months of rumors, speculation became reality Friday when the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Under Armour announced a 10-year, $96 million partnership that will begin after the university’s current deal with Adidas ends next July.
The contract was approved Friday morning by the Board of Regents and was officially announced at an afternoon press conference that featured Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank and UW athletic director Barry Alvarez.
The new deal with Under Armour will end a 15-year partnership with Adidas that began back in 2001. Wisconsin’s contract with Under Armour will go into effect July 1, 2016 for the 2016-'17 athletic season.
Flanked by prototype uniforms, Plank expressed his excitement and enthusiasm over the new partnership.
“Today's another chapter in our company's story, and one we're incredibly proud of,” Plank said. “We are eternally grateful for this opportunity. I just want to say, from the bottom of our hearts, that we’re thrilled, we’re impressed, we’re humbled and we absolutely are privileged to be here and be your partner.”
“Thank you for this great opportunity. We’re going to run hard we’re going to do a great job for the Wisconsin Badgers.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Under Armour will be the exclusive designer and supplier of the footwear, apparel and accessories for all 23 of the university’s men’s and women’s varsity athletics teams.
Alvarez also took a chance to thank Adidas for their 15-year relationship with the university.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Adidas for the 15 years of partnership that they gave us,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez stated that while he’s followed Under Armour for years, talks with the company really began this past winter when the men’s basketball team played Maryland (Plank’s alma mater).
“I think we probably had our first serious conversations prior to us playing at Maryland,” Alvarez said. “We had some discussions prior to that, and then I took a team to Baltimore to visit their operations and go through their operations. That’s where we were really getting serious.”
Though schools partnered with Under Armour and Nike have become famous for flashy uniforms that sometimes change on a weekly basis, Alvarez stated that while the Badgers will likely play in alternate or retro uniforms at least once per year, there won’t be changing uniforms week in and week out.
“We will not be a change-uniforms-every-week outfit,” he said. “That’s not us, that’s not our brand.”
Wisconsin will be the 32nd Division I school to partner with Under Armour and the third Big Ten school to do so, joining Maryland and Northwestern.
“We couldn’t be happier with this new relationship,” Alvarez said. “We’re looking forward to a long relationship with them.”
