CHRONICLING ECU & C-USA SPORTS
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View
from the 'ville
Friday,
June 23, 2006
By Al Myatt |
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Nike alliance means new day
for ECU 'brand'
©2006 Bonesville.net
East Carolina athletic director Terry Holland
remembers "the good old days."
"We were happy to get a pair of canvas
Converse shoes to start practice and then a pair of 'game' shoes when the
season was ready to begin," Holland recalled.
The athletic apparel and equipment industry
has greatly increased its scope since Holland starred on the hardwood at
Davidson in the 1960's, but that doesn't mean that Holland doesn't recognize
the industry leader today.
Under his leadership, the Pirates have just
stepped up to the majors in terms of their across-the-board
equipment/shoe/uniforms affiliation.
ECU's
recently-announced deal with Nike is a
quantum leap forward for the Pirates. The 5-year contract with the "swoosh"
came after months of negotiating that included discussions with four
different companies.
"The potential impact of combining the Nike
brand with Pirate athletics is certainly positive financially and
otherwise," Holland said. "By working with one company, instead of several
as in recent years, the consistency, availability and visibility of our
products and programs should increase dramatically."
ECU and Nike reached a verbal agreement during
the Conference USA basketball tournament and an official announcement was
made earlier this month.
Assistant AD for Special Projects Lee Workman,
who serves as ECU's licensing coordinator, was instrumental in bringing the
Pirates and Nike together for a long term deal. It was indeed a special
project.
"We have specific goals that we want in these
types of agreements," Workman said. "One is that we want the highest quality
product we can find for our student-athletes. We want them to be able to
wear and participate and compete in the best quality products that we can
provide.
"We want to look at a high level of service.
We were looking for a good partner and a good relationship that we could
have with the support of our coaches and our whole department. We wanted to
make a good business decision.
"We were also looking for a partner that we
could go out into the retail market with, ... that we felt could help us
grow and expand our licensing and our retail market. In our discussions,
Nike seemed, and is, a great fit for us.
"We're just excited about beginning this
relationship and what we can do in the future working with them
cooperatively. Nike is obviously a world leader in what they do."
ECU has recently worn Russell uniforms and
adidas shoes in football. Men's basketball also has been outfitted on a
combination basis by Russell/adidas. The women's basketball team has worn
Nike shoes. Track and field also has worn Nike gear. Mixing and matching
brands is essentially over at ECU.
"This is the first all-sports agreement we've
been able to get," Workman said.
The Pirates have hitched their wagon to a
star. Nike does about $14 billion in annual sales. Athletes who have helped
popularize the swoosh include megastars Lance Armstrong, Michael Jordan and
Tiger Woods. Association with the swoosh should be a positive for the
Pirates in recruiting.
"The Nike agreement mainly helps us stay
competitive from a 'prestige" standpoint as Nike is the top 'brand' in the
business and they provide high quality product," Holland said.
ECU will be sporting new Nike duds when the
Pirates open the football season at Navy on Sept. 2. Coach Skip Holtz got
input from senior players on the new uniforms before the order was placed.
The Pirates will not look drastically different in 2006.
"East Carolina is still going to be on the
front of the uniforms just like it always has been," Workman said. "There
will be a home purple jersey. The away jersey will be a white jersey. (Coach
Holtz) has got white pants and purple pants, I believe.
"It won't be exactly the same look. There will
be some differences in the uniform but I believe our fans are going to like
it. I know our players are going to like it because we valued their input —
Coach Holtz did — in making those decisions."
Nike has done a retro uniform with some of its
college programs. Workman said a throwback Pirates look is not in the works
for the upcoming season, but he didn't rule it out as a future possibility.
Workman said ECU will use Nike footballs and
basketballs beginning next school year. One exception to the "head to toe,
all-sport" ECU-Nike pact is that the baseball program has an ongoing deal
for its caps with "The Game." The Diamond Bucs will continue to wear that
brand but will have Nike uniforms.
Workman spoke about the financial aspect of
the Nike deal in general terms.
"The agreement calls for complimentary product
to be provided to the university," he said. "There will be product that the
university will buy, but that product will be at special pricing for East
Carolina University."
Apparently Nike is not paying a large rights
fee as it does with North Carolina. The Tar Heels signed an eight-year
contract with Nike worth more than $28 million in cash and athletic shoes,
apparel, and equipment in 2001.
Holland pointed out the relativity factor in
apparel/equipment/shoe deals.
"The agreements with equipment manufacturers
have allowed college teams to 'save' a lot of money on equipment costs but
since everything is 'relative' to your competition in this business, it only
matters what YOU get vs. what your competitors are getting," said the ECU
AD.
"In other words, if our competitors are
getting $100,000 in 'free' equipment, that means they are spending the
'savings' on recruiting, coaches' salaries, upgrading facilities, etc. If we
can't keep pace, then we quickly fall behind in the arms race that is a huge
part of college athletics today."
The Nike deal won't just benefit ECU's players
and coaches. The sabre and swoosh should eventually be available for fans at
an array of retail outlets.
"This first year it will be available
primarily at the bookstores locally," Workman said. "In Nike's system,
there's not enough time to get a full complement of Nike product. That's
based upon ordering processes. As we move into the ' 07 year and beyond,
with the appropriate lead time, we'll see more Nike products locally and
regionally through different retail outlets.
"We were excited about being able to
capitalize on retail in year one," Workman said. "We're excited about
working with Nike to grow that into a much broader retail offering as we
move into the next four years of the agreement."
The demand for ECU products and ultimately the
financial impact of the new deal to the university's athletic programs
depends to a large degree on the success of Pirate teams. Wins translate
into ECU fans buying more Pirates gear and creating the potential for even
bigger licensing revenue in the future.
"We need to do our part by being successful on
the fields and courts to maximize the partnership," Holland said. "I believe
everyone associated with Pirate athletics will be pleased with this
partnership and its long term implications."
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02/23/2007 12:30:23 AM
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