Howard Payne, Adidas establish first exclusive athletic wear relationship in D3

[Ron Boerger]

BROWNWOOD, Texas – Howard Payne Athletics and Adidas have entered into a three-year agreement that will provide exclusive footwear and apparel for all Yellow Jacket teams beginning with the 2011-12 academic year.

More at:  http://www.hpusports.com/news/2011/4/21/Gen_0421112217.aspx?path=gen

[Ron Boerger]

So there have been 130+ views of this, and no comments.   What do people think - does this fit the D3 model? 

I'm in no way suggesting HPU did anything wrong by signing this agreement, but the fact that it's apparently never been done before in the division suggests it's an unusual arrangement. 

[Ralph Turner]

So there have been 130+ views of this, and no comments.   What do people think - does this fit the D3 model? 

I'm in no way suggesting HPU did anything wrong by signing this agreement, but the fact that it's apparently never been done before in the division suggests it's an unusual arrangement. 

I will bet that there are at least 50 AD's who wish that they had done it themselves.

[Pat Coleman]

The story says it's the first with adidas. No idea whether any other schools have agreements with other apparel companies.

As far as whether it's a problem with Division III general philosophies, I don't think it is. Seems reasonable.

[luvdahoops]

Messiah College entered into an exclusive 3-year agreement with Nike sometime during the 2009-10 year.  They also looked at UnderArmour but Nike could outfit all the teams, while UA could not.

[bballer1280]

I see absolutely nothing wrong with the agreement.  More power to all involved.  Maybe the trend will continue to others.

[linde4]

So there have been 130+ views of this, and no comments.   What do people think - does this fit the D3 model? 

I'm in no way suggesting HPU did anything wrong by signing this agreement, but the fact that it's apparently never been done before in the division suggests it's an unusual arrangement. 

Similar to everyone else, I feel there's absolutely nothing wrong with this.  Trust me, as someone close to a particular Division III school, if an apparel company came offering, they would accept and I feel EVERY SCHOOL would accept.  The problem is simply that Nike, Adidas, UA, etc. won't receive the CBS & ESPN time that Duke, Kentucky, Auburn, etc. provide those companies each time a free throw is shot, a batter is focussed in on or a time out featured with a close-up camera view.  And therefore there's nothing in it for the apparel companies to spend $50K in uniforms and shoes for little return, except maybe a small hike in official apparel sales in the University bookstore (author note: the figure thrown out is a 5 second guesstimate for how much 20 sports worth of uniforms would cost at an average $2500 investment per set of uniform).

Otherwise, in theory, its great if it would happen.  Helps the University financially and creates a "brand" for colors, logos, and design schemes.

[linde4]

I should have read the article first... the reason this worked:

"We are honored to have Howard Payne University Athletics as a part of the Adidas family," said Mike Cloud of Adidas Team Sales. "We look forward to a long and successful partnership of which both parties can be proud."

Mike Cloud is a 1977 graduate of Howard Payne University. He was a member of the Yellow Jacket football team where he was a two-time All-Lone Star Conference selection at safety.

... Mr. Cloud in this case is not looking probably to outfit the rest of Division III, but rather use his employment to benefit his alma mater.  Which is totally fine, but explains very clearly why HP, and not others.

[chairman]

The article says nothing about Adidas giving Howard Payne anything. I would assume the deal is similar to ones inked by Messiah (Nike) and Eastern (UA) where in exchange for a commitment to a brand, the brand commits to certain across the board discounts for the entire department with a certain quantity of free gear being made available as money is spent by programs in the department.

This is very different from the high exposure DI model where athletes are put in shoes and coaches get dollars and gear for wearing a brand exclusively.