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Nike and not Under Armour will take over mlb uniforms in 2020. Under Armour has been struggling financially as recent news as has mostly negative. I believe a recent survey amongst teens placed Under Armour in category of outdated and uncool.

Overall this news should be wake up call to UC administrators and fans. From a branding and recruiting standpoint Under Armour isn’t looking good right now. Should UA continue to have money issues could UC back out of the deal. I have long held that UC needs to find a way back to Nike/Jordan brand. The basketball programs inconic uniforms and nike branding helped build the bearcat brand.
Uh oh.

This sounds like the episode of The Flintstones when Fred's blossoming career as a rock singer was crushed by Betty and Wilma circulating the rumor in the crowd that he was square.
(05-24-2018 09:48 PM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote: [ -> ]Nike and not Under Armour will take over mlb uniforms in 2020. Under Armour has been struggling financially as recent news as has mostly negative. I believe a recent survey amongst teens placed Under Armour in category of outdated and uncool.

Overall this news should be wake up call to UC administrators and fans. From a branding and recruiting standpoint Under Armour isn’t looking good right now. Should UA continue to have money issues could UC back out of the deal. I have long held that UC needs to find a way back to Nike/Jordan brand. The basketball programs inconic uniforms and nike branding helped build the bearcat brand.

1) Does UC have an "out" in the deal? I don't think this is the case.
2) Would UC get an offer from Nike / Adidas? Would it be better than the amount UA is giving us?

This may be growing pains for Under Armour. Nike had a terrible 2016, and is now coming back. No reason UA can't be the same. As many have said on here, UA isn't accessible. Their apparel, even the standard t-shirts, are ridiculously overpriced. I do see a lot of generic UA around on the streets, but typically polos and sweatshirts. Not shoes.
UA over last year or so has discounted and entered mid tier stores like kohls. I think they are in major trouble as a brand. They just don’t have any juice at the moment. The seemingly have no clue how to market their stars. Lastly their products outside a few offerings stink. As someone put it their brand is a fancy name for underwear. Personally I would rebrand as UA and drop the Under Armour name. I would rather shocked to see UC stay with them through the duration of the contract as I see Under Armour being sold off to another apperal maker.
Who are the most recognizable UA endorsers outside off Steph and spieth? The biggest endorser outside of those two is probably the Rock. And they have missed badly on the bball shoe market which is unbelievable. John wall doesn't have a shoe deal and plays in UAs backyard. They can't sign him to a deal?
(05-24-2018 10:17 PM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote: [ -> ]UA over last year or so has discounted and entered mid tier stores like kohls. I think they are in major trouble as a brand. They just don’t have any juice at the moment. The seemingly have no clue how to market their stars. Lastly their products outside a few offerings stink. As someone put it their brand is a fancy name for underwear. Personally I would rebrand as UA and drop the Under Armour name. I would rather shocked to see UC stay with them through the duration of the contract as I see Under Armour being sold off to another apperal maker.

So you'd advocate UC drop UA, even if it meant getting a fraction of the $$$ with Nike? Because that was the case when we were with Nike before.
(05-24-2018 10:17 PM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote: [ -> ]UA over last year or so has discounted and entered mid tier stores like kohls. I think they are in major trouble as a brand. They just don’t have any juice at the moment.

Which is a shame. Under Armor has made the best performance gear on the market since ~2001. Those cool gear skin tight shirts were a god send when playing football. Gone were the days of wringing out, and changing T-shirts at half time.

I have pretty much hated Nike products since I was a kid in the late 90's. Their shoes sucked for someone with bad feet, and they fell apart easily. I have some UA gear that has lasted me well over a decade, and was very happy when UA and UC made a deal.

But I am not someone who cares about shoes, and or basketball. I haven't watched an NBA game since the final game of the Dallas/Miami Championship game, and that was only cause I was in Chicago with a bunch of people still pissed about the Lebron decision.
While I agree with concerns expressed here about UA retail pricing and consumer product choices, their on-field/on-court uniforms for UC have provided a good image in my mind. Distinctive, yet pretty traditional, which befits a program that has won NCAA Tourneys and earned BCS bowl bids.

Reportedly, the money to UC has been the best ever and that's important in these leaner (G5) days. And we're in with a pretty strong cohort of P5 schools using UA. If UA sells or folds, then what? It's still a powerful enough brand that another apparel maker would acquire it and existing contracts would likely be fulfilled. But I suspect after that, UC Athletics would go back to market and seek the highest bidder.

As Captain Obvious might add, we all play a part in getting UC a higher bid. Filling Nippert and 5th/3rd more and staying in the top 50 in licensed merchandise sales will get UC an even better deal in the next contract negotiation.
(05-25-2018 07:10 AM)Racinejake Wrote: [ -> ]
(05-24-2018 10:17 PM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote: [ -> ]UA over last year or so has discounted and entered mid tier stores like kohls. I think they are in major trouble as a brand. They just don’t have any juice at the moment. The seemingly have no clue how to market their stars. Lastly their products outside a few offerings stink. As someone put it their brand is a fancy name for underwear. Personally I would rebrand as UA and drop the Under Armour name. I would rather shocked to see UC stay with them through the duration of the contract as I see Under Armour being sold off to another apperal maker.

So you'd advocate UC drop UA, even if it meant getting a fraction of the $$$ with Nike? Because that was the case when we were with Nike before.

This. This right here. No one would offer us anything close to the sweetheart deal we currently have with UA.

When we signed this contract, it was one of the top 10 most valuable apparel contracts in college sports. You think Adidas or (chuckle) Nike would be willing to pay that? We would just be another G5 team to them.

The unfortunate truth is that our football team (though us fans can see a bright future) is currently in the dumps, our basketball team can't make it out of the first weekend in March, and there is no guarantee that we will ever be in a power conference again. Putting away the Bearcat-tinted glasses, we aren't in a situation right now to be earning what is currently the 18th most lucrative apparel deal in college sports.

Don't get me wrong, we have awesome facilities, a consistent basketball program, a great school, and would be a strong addition to any P5 conference, but I don't think many people would say that we are currently providing more marketing value than 3/4 of the P5.

Count your blessings, Bearcats. UA is one of them.
The last couple posts have hit the nail on the head. The BE money is gone folks, we will be entering this new season with the lowest distribution from the conference since our CUSA days. Revenue received outside the conference is paramount.

We'd better hope that UA turns things around.
UC did get a good deal from them, too good to pass up, but that doesn't change the fact that UA is struggling big-time. There is no question about it. And they do next to nothing to help their schools when it comes to the recruiting game, which is probably most disappointing IMO.
(05-25-2018 08:18 AM)Marcus Wrote: [ -> ]UC did get a good deal from them, too good to pass up, but that doesn't change the fact that UA is struggling big-time. There is no question about it. And they do next to nothing to help their schools when it comes to the recruiting game, which is probably most disappointing IMO.

I'd be willing to bet the extra $$$ they're giving us over what Adidas has been offering helps more with recruiting than illegally funneling recruits to us. I think that bubble is about to pop, if it hasn't already, with the ongoing FBI investigation.
(05-25-2018 08:27 AM)crex043 Wrote: [ -> ]
(05-25-2018 08:18 AM)Marcus Wrote: [ -> ]UC did get a good deal from them, too good to pass up, but that doesn't change the fact that UA is struggling big-time. There is no question about it. And they do next to nothing to help their schools when it comes to the recruiting game, which is probably most disappointing IMO.

I'd be willing to bet the extra $$$ they're giving us over what Adidas has been offering helps more with recruiting than illegally funneling recruits to us. I think that bubble is about to pop, if it hasn't already, with the ongoing FBI investigation.

Maybe, although on paper our recruiting has been a real struggle the last few years. I truly hope it pops, but I seriously doubt it will.
(05-24-2018 10:21 PM)eroc Wrote: [ -> ]Who are the most recognizable UA endorsers outside off Steph and spieth? The biggest endorser outside of those two is probably the Rock. And they have missed badly on the bball shoe market which is unbelievable. John wall doesn't have a shoe deal and plays in UAs backyard. They can't sign him to a deal?

Tom Brady
The money isn’t a big difference if UC is stuck with a brand is that is considered very unpopular with young people. I would rather recruit better, sell more merchandise, and win games.

Under Armour couldn’t even produce a post season basketball uniform. Look how long it took them get the old 1990s jerseys on the market. You can’t even buy the throwback Koufax era baseball hat online or any local retailer store.

Under Armour is in serious trouble as a brand. Just google search and read their financials and other related business items. It does not help that Kevin Plank is a huge Trump supporter because I am assuming that is big turnoff for some young people as much as it huge plus for some people. Best bet would be for UAto stay out of politics as you don’t want to anger key demographics. I would say the same thing if Plank was all in on leftist politics too.

In 2016 UA signed a game changing deal with mlb the number licensed apperal brand in the sports world. Two years before they ever get their logo on the uniform UA backs out because they don’t have the resources for the deal. MLB wanted someone to help grow the game with young people, clearly that isn’t UA.

People at UC need to nervous about what is happening with UA.
bearcatlawjd2, you make some good points. I wasn't aware that Plank was so vocal about a highly controversial politician... yikes. I don't understand why even a small business owner would be willing to isolate an entire political party, let alone a CEO of a massive company like UA. It's not good business IMO.

I was always under the impression though that a lot of the resistance to throwback-style apparel was on UC's end, but I may be mistaken.
(05-24-2018 09:59 PM)Def Berkkat Wrote: [ -> ]Uh oh.

This sounds like the episode of The Flintstones when Fred's blossoming career as a rock singer was crushed by Betty and Wilma circulating the rumor in the crowd that he was square.

I thought I saw all the Flintstones cartoons but I don't remember this one. I'll have to check Youtube.
(05-25-2018 10:11 AM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote: [ -> ]The money isn’t a big difference if UC is stuck with a brand is that is considered very unpopular with young people. I would rather recruit better, sell more merchandise, and win games.

Under Armour couldn’t even produce a post season basketball uniform. Look how long it took them get the old 1990s jerseys on the market. You can’t even buy the throwback Koufax era baseball hat online or any local retailer store.

Under Armour is in serious trouble as a brand. Just google search and read their financials and other related business items. It does not help that Kevin Plank is a huge Trump supporter because I am assuming that is big turnoff for some young people as much as it huge plus for some people. Best bet would be for UAto stay out of politics as you don’t want to anger key demographics. I would say the same thing if Plank was all in on leftist politics too.

In 2016 UA signed a game changing deal with mlb the number licensed apperal brand in the sports world. Two years before they ever get their logo on the uniform UA backs out because they don’t have the resources for the deal. MLB wanted someone to help grow the game with young people, clearly that isn’t UA.

People at UC need to nervous about what is happening with UA.
I think you may be overestimating the negative impact that the UA brand has on the popularity of the school and the number of people wearing UC gear, while underestimating the positive impact that additional tens of millions of dollars can make on a recruiting budget. I don't think UA's partnerships with Notre Dame, Auburn, and South Carolina are causing those schools much of an issue. And I think most people who wear UC gear aren't wearing UA. They wearing stuff from Champion or other companies that have secondary licensing deals.

Then again, I could be off base.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Part of the contract with UA is not just money, but also the practice and daily wear gear for UC athletes. Under the other shoe companies, the amount of clothing provided was significantly less. That type of daily operational aspect is completely overlooked when fans only care about the football and/or basketball jerseys.

It also should be noted that bearcatlawjd2 has been anti-UA from the start and complains at frequent intervals about UA.

Of course UA has faults, but I want to see UA succeed because they are the only shoe company willing to treat UC like a big time program across all sports. Nike certainly won't. It will be template uniforms for all sports and a lot less supplied practice and daily gear.
How many excuses are we going to use before we admit to ourselves what the real problem is? Our arena sucks, our conference sucks, we aren't a Nike school, kids don't like UA, we don't have a good enough facilities, we consistently underperform in March, blah, blah blah, I've heard them all.

The biggest issue with recruiting is our coaching staff's lack of youth and NBA experience. Simply put, we don't have a single good recruiter on our staff. All the great talent evaluators in the world don't mean anything if you can't close on any top 100 prospects you've offered.

Mick needs to shake things up because there is zero chance anyone of our current assistant coaches is going to get offered a better opportunity than the one they have now.
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